


Sheppard Squared

by FlyBoy



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-07
Updated: 2011-02-07
Packaged: 2017-10-15 11:51:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 31,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/160539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlyBoy/pseuds/FlyBoy





	Sheppard Squared

"And our final order of business is for Colonel Sheppard."

Sheppard looked up from his doodling on the note pad in front of his place at the conference table. He survived these meetings by only half paying attention, jumping into the conversation only when it was necessary.

Seeing that he was paying attention, Elizabeth continued. "As I mentioned earlier, the Daedelus is arriving in about an hour. In his last communication, Colonel Caldwell gave me a message for Colonel Sheppard. Colonel, he asked that you personally be present when they land. All he would say is that he has a 'present' for you."

"A present? For me?" Confusion was evident on his face. Sheppard and Caldwell had never been the best of buddies, at times only tolerating one another at best. Sheppard knew that Caldwell would never do much of anything for his benefit so he was instantly on alert and very curious about what Caldwell was doing. Whatever it was it probably wouldn't be good.

"Ok," Sheppard said somewhat reluctantly. "I'll be there."

"Very good. Then we are adjourned."

"Colonel?" Major Lorne said as the group broke up, each heading off to their regular duties. "Lunch?"

Checking his watch, Sheppard noticed it was indeed that time. He must have zoned out for more time than he had realized during the meeting they had just finished. "Sure. Do you think we can get a table at this hour without a reservation?"

Lorne chuckled. "I know the maître de – he'll get me a table."

"It pays to have good connections, Lorne!"

As they made their way through the busy hallways on their way to the Mess Hall they chatted about the latest gossip from the city. For a relatively small group of people there was never an end to local gossip. And Sheppard and Lorne were never above sharing the latest "news" about who was doing what with whom, where, and when.

Since it was high noon, the Mess Hall was indeed busy. After working their way through the line, collecting their food, Sheppard and Lorne managed to find a table for two off on one side of the large room where they ate their lunch and finished their gossip-session. Of course, if asked, neither man would admit to calling their "discussion" gossip – but, hey, call it what you will, it didn't change what it really was.

After eating they were relaxing with a cup of coffee when the city-wide intercom alerted them that it was time to head back to work. "Attention all personnel. The Daedelus is on final approach and should be landing within the next 10 minutes. All personnel who are scheduled to meet the ship on arrival are asked to report to the pier now. Thank you."

"That's our cue!" Sheppard announced.

"Back to work." They dropped off their trays and headed out together to the closest transporter. Lorne had duties connected with the arrival of each ship from Earth and Sheppard had this mysterious promise of a present from Caldwell.

~~~~~~~~

Despite having watched the Daedelus and her sister ships arrive and land countless times, Sheppard and Lorne never tired of watching the majestic ship approach and land in the city. As pilots, it was still amazing to watch the huge, lumbering vessel glide in so gracefully and land precisely and effortlessly on target. Knowing that the ship had just crossed the vast emptiness of space for the last two weeks made the experience just that much more astonishing.

As the ship powered down and prepared to disembark its passengers, Sheppard and Lorne were joined by Elizabeth, Rodney, Ronon, Teyla, and a few dozen other personnel who had assignments – or who were just curious.

The passenger hatch swung gently downward creating not only a door but also a ramp for access to the ship. The first people off the ship were military personnel assigned to hand off the official paperwork to Dr. Weir, who welcomed the ship and its crew to Atlantis.

Newly assigned personnel for the city started to exit the ship, each with a look of awe on their face as they caught their first glimpse of the city of the Ancestors. Like watching the giant ship approach and land, Sheppard also never tired of seeing the faces of the first-time visitors.

Sheppard's eyes were following a small bevy of new arrivals. When he looked back to the ship the smile on his face vanished, replaced with a neutral expression. Coming down the ramp from the ship was just about the last person Sheppard ever expected to see arriving in Atlantis – his brother. The man exiting the ship looked like an exact carbon copy of the John Sheppard known to all Atlantis residents. When the man spotted Sheppard he stopped and then walked toward the Colonel.

One by one each of Sheppard's co-workers looked at the new arrival. One by one, their mouths slowly dropped open in stunned silence. McKay recovered the gift of speech first (big surprise!). "Holy crap!"

Ronon followed next, "Hey, Sheppard, why does that guy look like you?" He paused for a moment and reached for his weapon, saying just one word, "Replicators!"

"No! Ronon, no. Don't shoot him, please. He's my brother."

The newest Sheppard walked slowly up to his brother. His face held an equally neutral expression. He set his bag down on the landing pad before speaking. "Jonathan – never thought in a million years that this is where we would meet up again."

"Joseph. Ditto." The two men stiffly shook hands like proper gentlemen, neither smiling and neither certainly making any move to initiate a hug. "What is it that brings you to our little neck of the universe?"

"Well, it certainly wasn't my choice to spend more than two weeks trapped inside a little flying tin can, I can assure you of that."

"Didn't the stewards keep your champagne and caviar fresh? You should have sprung for the first class ticket. When traveling a few billion miles it really is worth the extra expense."

"I'll have to keep that in mind before booking my next trip." Taking a look at the city, he continued, "So this is where you've been hiding yourself for the last few years. I must admit I had sort of wondered what happened to you."

"Really? I didn't know you ever gave me a thought?"

"Only when I can't avoid it, dear brother." The newest Sheppard picked up his bag and said, "Ok. I'm here. Show me where I'm staying so I can get to work. And I expect you to use your connections with the management of this hotel to get me a room with a nice view of the pool."

"Sorry. Those rooms are full. But I'll find something overlooking the trash dumpsters for you."

"How thoughtful. Like I always said, it pays to have connections."

A young Marine stepped up to the newest Sheppard. "If you'll come with me, sir, I'll show you to your quarters. May I take your bag please?" Joseph Sheppard's eyes surveyed the Marine standing before him, looking him over from head to foot. "Well, hellllooo! And who might you be young man?"

"Lieutenant Mars, sir."

"Mars? As in the heavenly body? I can see the resemblance. Ok, Mars, take me, I'm yours, show me the way." Turning back to John for a moment his brother said, "You'll have to excuse me, brother, but a cuter offer awaits." Smiling, the new man stepped close to Lieutenant Mars and immediately started talking to the man as they walked toward the city.

After watching the brief interaction between Sheppard and his twin, his coworkers were once again dumbfounded. Even McKay this time couldn't make his tongue work to get out even a snide remark. Ultimately he simply repeated what he had said before, "Holy crap!"

Elizabeth looked at John and said simply, "Something you forgot to tell us, Colonel?"

Considering his words carefully, Sheppard said, "Oh, yeah, I have a twin brother – and he's a royal pain in the ass. We might look the same on the surface but I can assure you that we are nothing alike beyond that."

Turning, the man stalked away, clearly unhappy, presumably about the reopening of a chapter of his life that he thought was closed for good. He caught up with his brother and Lieutenant Mars in time to hear his brother proposition the young man. "Lieutenant," he said in a soft, sultry voice, "maybe you can come by later and give me a tour of your fair city. It's hard to be the new guy in town without knowing anyone …"

"Oh, give it a rest, brother!" Sheppard commanded, stepping between the two men. "I've got this, Mars. Go back and see if anyone else needs help."

"Yes, sir," the man answered as he handed the bag to Sheppard and turned to return to the giant ship on the landing pad.

"Now, Jonathan, really? Did you have to scare the poor boy off like that? I was hoping to get him into my bed tonight! Now I'll have to start all over again. We really must work on your timing."

"Enough, Joseph! This is where I work. These are my co-workers, my colleagues, and my friends. I can't have you coming in here and trying to bed half the men on the base!"

"Why the hell not? I have needs! I've been stuck on that flying closet for two weeks. I can assure you I intend to get one of your hot Marines into my bed tonight for a romp on the wild side. When I get done with him he'll never be the same again."

"Joseph! You didn't hear a word I just said, did you?"

"Friends, work, blah, blah, blah. You didn't hear what I said. Joe horny!"

"I don't give a crap if Joe is horny or not! You will not embarrass me while you are here! If you do I'll personally have you neutered! And why the hell are you here!?"

"One of your Air Force colleagues called on me for my computer expertise. You've apparently got a whopper of a system here and someone thought I would be the best man for the job of investigating how it works. I'm sure that if you check your e-mail you'll find the orders awaiting you. You do read your e-mail don't you?" he asked, knowing full well what the answer was but wanting to toy with his brother for a moment.

"No more than I have to."

"I'm so surprised," he responded as they walked through the doorway into the hallway. "You haven't changed one bit little brother."

"And don't call me "little brother!" Colonel Sheppard ordered.

"As we've discussed before, Jonathan, I was born first so I'm the older brother."

"Only by six minutes. Don't get so fucking cocky."

"Oh, brother. Anything with a cock and I'm all over it."

Sheppard snarled at the man who seemed to draw pleasure in inverse relationship to his brother's displeasure.

As the two men walked they were so totally engrossed in their argument and their own conversation that they failed to notice that the lights in the hallway became brighter as they passed. Atlantis sensed a doubling of the Sheppard gene, the strongest gene among the current residents.

As much as a computer system was able, she purred with pleasure by flashing the lights and powering up systems in their presence. The two Sheppard's were oblivious but others around them observed what was happening. Systems that had never given a hint of functioning previously were coming to life. Other systems that had been mysteries were sending up hundreds of messages on nearby monitors.

"How long are you here, anyway?"

"Probably long enough to put a few grey hairs on that pretty, little head of yours," he said, reaching out to run his fingers through the Colonel's hair.

"Hey! Don't touch the hair!"

"Right, I forgot, you're sensitive about your hair. You needn't worry, brother, your hair looks fabulous. And I should know since gay men pay attention to these things. In fact, your hair was the first thing that made me think I wasn't the only gay Sheppard. You were always so precise about your hair."

Looking at his brother, Sheppard said, "I am not gay. You have that issue covered. I just like my hair to look good."

"Well, it does brother. It always has and it still does."

"Wow! Was that a compliment? From you?"

"Don't tell anyone!" he said in a conspiratorial tone, leaning forward to speak quietly with his brother.

"Come on," Sheppard told his brother. "Let's get a room for you so can do what you came to do – and then leave!"

"What? And do without quality family bonding time?! Never!" Linking his arm to his brother's, Joseph Sheppard said, "We have so much catching up to do, brother. We may never see each other again so let's make the most of our time and have some fun."

Sheppard snarled, shook his arm free from his brother, and stalked away, carrying the man's baggage. "Come on!" he yelled without stopping to turn around. "If you get lost I'm not coming to find you."

"No worries. I'll just ask one of your beautiful Marines. It looks like you're well stocked with prime young men. You must have known I was coming so you put in an extra supply."

The Colonel dropped the bag he was carrying to the floor and leaned in close to his brother's face. "Now you listen to me and you listen good."

"Oh! He's getting all butch and military with me! I do love a strong man in control!"

"Enough!!! I don't know what you're game is but leave me out of it. I finally have a good life here. I have a good job, a good home, good friends. Don't you dare to come in here and fuck it up! Do you understand me? If you don't I will not hesitate to explain it more frankly."

Joseph Sheppard's face displayed one of the classic Col. Sheppard "woe is me" looks. Clearly the two had more in common than just their appearance. "Why, brother, I would never do anything to disturb your peace. If you are happy hiding out here in the middle of nowhere, I'm happy for you. I can also assure you that as soon as I finish what I've been sent to do, I'm out of here so fast you won't believe it. But understand this little brother, I will not live like a celibate monk while I'm here. If it bothers you just look away."

"Fuck you!"

"That is one thing we've never tried, little brother."

The usually tranquil, calm Colonel Sheppard lost his temper at that point and threw himself at his brother. But Joseph had changed since John had last spent any time with him. His brother had received some self-defense training in the intervening years. He was easily able to parry John's man's move and before the Colonel knew what happened, his brother had him on his back on the floor. John found his brother's boot pressed against his neck.

"Calm down, little brother. Don't make me hurt you. I haven't even been here an hour yet and already we're having an altercation. And yes, to answer the question you haven't asked yet, I have received self-defense training. In fact, I've become quite skilled and teach a black belt karate class to a small group of students. I'm actually in quite a bit of demand, which always helps my ego."

"You certainly don't appear to be lacking in the ego department."

"Well, if I'm not proud of myself and my accomplishments then who the hell will be? You? That would be a surprise. David? Equally unlikely. Dad? We don't even need to go there." He removed his boot from John's neck and moved back to pick up his bag. He held a hand down and helped his brother to his feet.

The two men proceeded first to the Control Room. As they entered, with Colonel Sheppard leading the way, there was a slight physical separation between the two. Joseph Sheppard stepped up next to his brother at one of the many computer terminals throughout the Control Room. Like everything else so far, all of the monitors powered up and, like happy puppies panting for their Master's approval, flashed messages on their screens.

Chuck, on duty in the Control Room, had to look twice to believe what he was seeing. He rubbed his eyes and looked again.

Sensing the man's confusion, Colonel Sheppard assured him. "No, Sergeant, you're not dreaming. It's real."

"Ok. I thought for a minute that I'd been drinking or something."

"No, but I can assure you that I will be before the day is over."

"Oh! Me, too! I've done some of my best cruising in bars," the new Sheppard said.

"Get your libido in check you middle-aged whore-monger!"

For the first time the other Sheppard looked angry. "Who are you calling 'middle-aged' you overgrown adolescent?"

"Hit a nerve, did I?" Sheppard said with a smile. "You always were sensitive about your age, weren't you? What with you being the older brother and all!"

"Bite me, bitch!"

"I'd rather not, actually. Lord only knows where it's been."

The two stood icily for a moment eying one another. "So, is this my room, brother? I'm surprised you want me fucking half your Marines where so many can watch."

Ignoring his brother, Sheppard yelled, "Chuck! Help me find a room for our 'visitor'"

"Colonel, we've got weird stuff going on everywhere."

"Define 'weird'," Sheppard snapped.

"It looks like a lot of new processes have launched. We've got data coming in from sensors I didn't know we had. Programs I can't begin to identify are running. I'm getting literally hundreds of screens of new data feeds. We've never seen this in all the time we've been here."

"I guess that counts as weird. Any idea about the source of the disturbance? Call McKay and tell him to get his ass up here now!"

"Jonathan," his brother interrupted.

"In a minute."

"Jonathan!"

"I said, 'in a minute.' I'm working here!" Sheppard turned back toward Chuck and was starting to give another order when his brother tried once again to get his attention.

"Jonathan!"

"What!?!!" he yelled. "What the fuck do you want?"

The Gate Room became absolutely silent as everyone present stopped what they were doing to watch the exchange between the two Sheppard's. It was so bizarre to see their Colonel arguing with a carbon copy of himself that they didn't even know existed. It looked for all the world like the Colonel was arguing with himself, even though that wasn't the case.

"If you are done yelling, I can answer your question and save you having to call anyone else. And you should already know the answer, I might add."

Joseph Sheppard stopped at that point and stood silently with his arms crossed, staring at his brother.

"Speak! I'm paying attention! Talk! If you've got all the answers, what is going on?" Sheppard yelled.

"I did a lot of reading on the way here. I mean there wasn't much to do except read and suck dick, but that's another story." The Colonel fumed but kept quiet. "My working hypothesis is that your beautiful city has sensed a doubling of your natural gene. In other words, the city sees twice as much connection now that I'm here." He smiled at his brother.

"Yes, we share not just beautiful hair and stunning good looks – we also share an equally strong expression of the Ancient gene. Your city is getting a warm fuzzy feeling in the Ancient equivalent of her chips. In simpler terms, we're making the old girl hot."

"Must everything come down to sex with you?"

"No, but it certainly does help."

The Colonel closed his eyes for a moment, leaning his head forward, and thought about what his brother was suggesting. It made sense and certainly was plausible.

Looking back up, Sheppard ordered Chuck to summon the senior staff, including McKay.

"Still don't trust me, do you little brother?"

Sheppard smiled as he responded, "Of course I do. You are the older one."

No one in the Gate Room had moved, all captivated by the extreme case of sibling rivalry that they were witnessing.

"If you must know, what you say makes sense. But it has ramifications for everything so I need to get everyone involved and up to speed quickly."

"Good answer, Jonathan."

"Thank you, Joseph."

The two smiled utterly fake smiles while they exchanged their forced pleasantries.

Lorne, Ronon, Teyla, Weir and McKay entered the Control Room at that moment, missing all of the raised voices from the argument just concluded. Somehow McKay had managed to swing by the Mess Hall and was carrying a big plate of what looked like lasagna which he was shoveling into his mouth as he walked and talked.

McKay didn't see Sheppard number two and walked right into the man, spilling his plate of hot lasagna onto the man's shirt where it ran down his entire front, coating his khaki pants with bright red tomato sauce and bits of pasta and mozzarella cheese.

Everyone gasped, including McKay. For a moment no one said a word, not knowing what to say. It was not in McKay's character to admit to a mistake and certainly was not in his character to apologize. Not knowing what else to do, he took the napkin that he had been holding in his other hand and tried to wipe up some of the mess. All he succeeded in doing was spreading the mess further.

The newest Sheppard broke the silence by calming saying, "And you must be McKay."

To his credit, Sheppard number two kept his calm and appeared absolutely unruffled. He simply looked at his brother and calmly asked, "Jonathan, could I possibly borrow a pair of pants and a shirt from you? They told us on arrival that our clothing would be the last thing off-loaded."

Still a bit stunned, Sheppard said, "Of course. Come with me and I'll get you some clothes and show you where you can change."

"Thanks. I appreciate it."

The two men walked away, bits of pasta and sauce dropping away as they walked. In the Colonel's quarters he was about to pull out some clothes for his brother when his earpiece summoned him to the Infirmary immediately. "Got to run. Help yourself. I'll be back as quick as I can."

"And welcome to Pegasus. What the fuck am I doing here?" Joseph looked around his brother's Spartan quarters, went into the bathroom, removed his soiled clothes, quickly showered, and then went looking for some clothes. The first thing he found were extra pairs of everyday military wear so he pulled on a pair of pants and a t-shirt.

Leaving his bag on the floor of his brother's room, Joseph Sheppard left John's quarters and easily found his way back to the Control Room on his own. His impeccable sense of direction did not fail him and he easily retraced his steps.

The pasta had been cleaned up by the time he returned. As he walked in he saw everyone scurrying around – something was happening but he didn't have a clue what. He stood off to one side and watched as the giant ring on the floor below them spun into action and a worm hole formed.

"Incoming wormhole," the man called Chuck announced, although it was fairly obvious what was happening.

"IDC?" the slim woman in charge called out.

"Not yet, ma'am." A pause and then, "We're getting audio."

"Patch it through the speakers."

"Sheppard? Are you there?" a vaguely male voice asked.

Joseph didn't know how anyone knew that he was here, but he did what was natural and said, "I'm here. Who's this?"

Joseph heard a throaty chuckle followed by, "You were always fond of referring to me as Todd, although I have no idea why. We need to talk Sheppard. I have news – news that you need to hear."

Dr. Weir jumped in. "What is the news?"

"I need to give you this in person. I'd like to come through your gate for a meeting. I ask that you not take me prisoner again this time, if you don't mind."

"Why should I let you into my city?"

"You will want to hear what I have to tell you, Dr. Weir."

"Give me a moment." She made a gesture and Chuck muted the microphone. "Recommendations?" she asked. Looking at Sheppard she said, "Colonel, what do you think he wants?"

Before he could answer – or begin to formulate an answer – his brother came running into the Control Room. "What do we have?"

Weir did a double take, looking back and forth between the two men. Dressed in the same clothes it was absolutely impossible to tell the two apart. The two men were identical copies of one another, right down to the way their hair was fluffed.

She said, "John? Which one is my Sheppard?"

The Colonel spoke up, "Me. What's up?"

"Todd wants to come through. He says he has news that we will want to hear. He asks that we not take him prisoner. Recommendations."

"Let him in. He's given us some good intel before."

"You trust him?"

"Hell, no! But I want to hear what he thinks we should know."

Weir nodded to Chuck who opened up two-way communication once again. "Very well, Todd. I'm dropping the shield. You may come through the gate, but be assured that if you try anything I have a contingent of Marines with large weapons standing by."

"Understood. I'm alone."

"Drop the shield, Chuck."

"The shield is down."

Sheppard dashed down the stairs to get to the floor of the Gate Room. By instinct his brother did the same thing, following close of his heals.

The Colonel turned and yelled, "No! You stay here. He's dangerous. I don't want you in danger!"

His brother simply agreed, taking his brother's advice. "Ok," he answered, stopping where he stood.

John hit the Gate Room floor just as the large Wraith came through the gate. True to his word he was alone. Once he was through he simply stopped and stood still while the wormhole disengaged.

Joseph Sheppard had read about the Wraith but to actually see one in the flesh, so to speak, was shocking. The thing was bigger than he had ever anticipated. "Holy crap!" he muttered.

The assembled Marines held their weapons on Todd while the Colonel walked up to Todd. "So what's the big news that you have for us?"

"We have found another Ancient warship."

Sheppard's eye brow raised. "And why are you telling us this?"

"You know full well, Sheppard, that the ship is of no use to us. We do not possess the gene to make it operate. Despite years of work by our best scientists we are no closer to unlocking the secrets of integrating the gene with Wraith biology."

"Where?"

"The ship? Quite some ways away I'm afraid. We've explored it and it is empty. Most life support systems are working and there is power. Beyond that, you'll have to figure that out on your own."

"Give me coordinates," he ordered. Todd looked up to the Control Room, calling out the coordinates. His eyes stopped when he spotted the carbon copy of his Sheppard. "What's this?" the Wraith asked indignantly. "Have you been taken over by the Replicators?"

"No Replicators. He's the real thing."

"Fascinating. May I meet him?"

"No! You have no need to go anywhere near him."

"Oh, Sheppard, you never did trust me. I will be on my best behavior."

Sheppard looked from Todd to his brother, clearly not happy with the prospect of the Wraith getting anywhere near his brother. For once, though, his brother stayed put and looked to John for instruction. The thing before him scared him and he was deferring completely to his brother's expertise on this matter.

Todd looked at the copy of Sheppard on the steps and said, "Come down and say hello."

Joseph didn't move a muscle, looking at John for direction.

"I promise to behave, John Sheppard."

"Todd, this is my brother. Joseph, this is Todd."

"Hey," Joseph said, remaining in his position. He looked at John who gave a small nod to his head. He slowly stepped down the remaining steps to stand beside his brother. Todd didn't move but simply sniffed the air. "Amazing!" he said. "There is no difference. Most unusual." Looking at Joseph Sheppard, he said, "Hello Sheppard's brother."

"Hey," Joseph answered hesitantly, making no move toward the creature.

"Ok," John said, "you've met. You've given us the news. You've given us the coordinates. We'll check it out."

"Good. I'll be back in touch soon. Now I'd like to go home. Dr. Weir, if you don't mind, …" and he called out a set of coordinates which Chuck dialed.

Todd looked at Joseph and said, "Until we meet again." When the wormhole engaged the large creature turned and walked through the gate.

Joseph stood utterly still, not moving a muscle. He looked at his brother and simply said, "Holy fuck! You deal with things like that on a regular basis?"

"All too often. And a word of warning: the women are far worse."

"I've often found that to be true, but thanks for the advice. I'll keep that in mind. You did that well, John. You didn't blink. You've got some big cojones, brother. I don't know if I could have done that."

John looked at his brother and waited for the inevitable baiting that usually followed. One glance though told him that his brother meant what he said. John touched his brother's arm and said, "Come on, let's go see where he wants us to go."

"Sure. Please tell me you don't get any closer to that than what I just saw!"

"Not if I have a choice."

"Be careful, John. Please." John looked at his brother and saw that he was deadly serious, something that John Sheppard never expected out of his brother.

"It's ok. Don't worry."

"Sorry. He's my first 7 foot tall, green/grey space alien. Pictures don't do him justice. And that voice." Joseph visibly shuddered at the memory of that voice. He was like a really bad used car salesman with a good dollop of freaky space alien thrown in."

"That's good! The Wraith are a lot like used car salesmen. I'll have to remember that." The two returned to the Control Room where Joseph stood quietly beside his brother, allowing him to do his job. He watched his brother take command of the situation, logically reviewing the facts they had and making quick command decisions. Joseph was quietly impressed. His lazy, baby brother had clearly matured.

John turned back to his brother and asked, "Want to go get a cup of coffee while McKay and Lorne work their magic and get some more data for us?"

"Sounds like a good idea. Just don't ask me to find it or we might be a while getting there."

"Come on, I'll lead the way."

As they made their way through the busy hallways and common rooms of the Ancient city, heads everywhere turned to give the two Sheppard's a second look. Absolutely no one had any idea that John Sheppard had a brother, much less an identical twin brother.

The two men got their coffee and a muffin and made their way to Sheppard's favorite table on the balcony.

Joseph looked at the view and quietly observed, "Nice!! I couldn't have picked a better table myself."

John Sheppard smiled as he blew on his hot coffee. The two men sat in silence for a moment. Joseph made the first move. "I'm sorry, John."

"For what?"

"For being such a bitch to you as soon as I arrived. I didn't want to but it just seemed to happen."

"Thank you for saying that. I'm sorry for letting it get to me. Now, what are you doing here?" he asked quietly.

Joseph looked at his brother and sighed. "I wish to God I knew. It scared the crap out of me to read some of the reports of what you've been doing the last few years. I had no idea where you were or what you were doing and I wasn't able to get any information from anyone."

"You were looking for me?" John asked.

Joseph looked away. "Maybe a little."

John smiled, not quite believing what he was hearing.

"Why were you looking for me?"

"Look at us, John. We're hard to tell apart. You're a part of me and I'm a part of you – like it or not – we are inextricably linked. Don't make me say another word or I'm walking away right now," his brother half threatened.

"I think I understand."

"If there's a remote chance of anyone in the universe understanding, it had better be you."

They sipped their coffee before Joseph asked his brother another question. "You deal with monsters like that big guy often?"

"Unfortunately, from the day I arrived I've been running into them. There are a boatload of them in this galaxy."

"No reports could ever prepare me for that thing."

"Keep that fear. It's a good thing when you run into them. They're the closest to evil we've got here in Pegasus."

"If I never see another one of those things it will be too soon."

"You want a refill?" John asked his brother.

"Sure," he said holding up his cup. "Put a little vodka in with the coffee and my nerves might finally calm down."

"Sorry. No vodka on the menu. I do have some beers that I might be willing to share with you later this evening."

"Deal," Joseph readily agreed.

John stepped away to refill their cups. As such things happen, it was just that moment when Lorne walked in. Seeing Joseph sitting at the table in military fatigues, he naturally assumed it was his Sheppard. "Colonel, I'm glad I caught you. We've got a little problem with a couple of the new people. Got a few minutes to help out?"

"Wish I could but somehow I don't think I'm the guy you want. My loss," he said after checking out Lorne's tight body.

"Huh? Oh! Mr. Sheppard. My apologies. This is going to be really difficult, trying to tell the two of you apart."

"I'm getting that impression. No problem. Wish I could help, but pull up a chair. John will be back in just a second."

Lorne did as directed since he really did need a few minutes of Sheppard's time. "This is really freaky. You look just like him."

"I always thought he looked just like me."

Lorne chuckled. "I'm Major Lorne. Evan Lorne," he said, holding out his hand.

"Joseph Sheppard. Nice to meet you Evan Lorne," he said, shaking the offered hand.

"What brings you to our little part of the universe, Mr. Sheppard?"

"I'm not telling until you call me Joseph. Mr. Sheppard was my father and thankful that miserable old tyrant is dead and buried. May he rot in hell."

"Ah, family," Lorne joked.

Joseph laughed. "I like you Evan Lorne."

"Thank you, Joseph."

"There you go! You got it! Well done!"

They shared another laugh. John Sheppard reappeared at the table with two cups of coffee, handing one to his brother. "What's so funny?" he asked.

"I was trying to convince Major Lorne to call me Joseph and not Mr. Sheppard."

"You tell him who Mr. Sheppard was?"

"I think I may have caught him by surprise."

"You both have some pretty negative feelings about your father," Lorne observed.

"And he earned it," Joseph responded. "Miserable SOB ruined the first part of my life, and would have ruined John's as well if he hadn't been strong enough to walk away and not look back."

John Sheppard was startled to hear another compliment from his brother. Unable to resist, John asked, "You think I was strong?"

Joseph looked away for a moment before answering quietly, "Yes." Looking at Lorne with a stern, ferocious look, he added, "And if you ever repeat that Major Lorne I'll hunt you down and nip off something you hold near and dear. Got it?"

"Yes, sir!" he answered. "Just one question. What was it I wasn't supposed to repeat? I can't remember."

"Good man!" Joseph responded. "I don't like hurting the pretty ones."

"Pretty?" Lorne asked. "I've been called many things before but never 'pretty.'"

"Sorry, it's been a long day and I'm a little freaked out from meeting one of your neighbors – that big ugly green, grey guy."

"Ok. I'll give you the fact that the Wraith scare the bejesus out of anyone. But 'pretty'?"

John came to his brother's rescue, looking Lorne in the eyes longingly. "Yes, Evan, we think you're pretty. Smolderingly pretty. Classically pretty. …"

"Enough," Lorne said, putting his hands over his ears. "Pretty? Just what is it you two are drinking in those cups anyway?"

"Well, I asked for vodka but John told me it wasn't on the menu today. So just coffee I'm afraid."

Lorne stood to head back to work. "Pretty?" he asked one last time, shaking his head. He turned to walk away only to hear Joseph call after him, "You've got a nice butt, too, Evan."

Lorne actually blushed, not quite knowing how to handle such comments from a man who looked exactly like his commanding officer.

"Colonel," he said, pausing at the door. "I request immediate medical leave. I'm afraid I may be scared for life."

Joseph answered first, "Yes, the pretty ones are always so delicate."

"Meet me in the gym sometime and I'll show you delicate!" Lorne responded.

John Sheppard was frantically trying to signal Lorne to stop, hoping to save his Second in Command from his impending doom, but Lorne was too slow on picking up on the message.

"Gladly, oh pretty one!" Joseph answered.

"Lorne," Colonel Sheppard said. "You are so screwed!" He instantly regretted his choice of words and tried to cover by immediately plowing ahead. "He's a black belt in karate and will kick your ass from one side of the gym to the other."

"And back again. Don't forget the back again part!" Joseph instructed.

"Uh, oh," Lorne said, realizing his mistake. "Umm, I've really got to leave now, sir," he said hoping to make a semi-graceful exit.

"Don't forget we have a date, Evan … on the floor of the gym."

John hated doing it but he couldn't help himself – he laughed at Lorne's obvious discomfort. "Run, Lorne! Run! Go while you can still get away!" Turning to his brother he added, "And you! Leave him alone! Don't break him. He's the best Second I've ever had and I need him."

Joseph contemplated his brother's request momentarily before nodding his head, "Very well. You may live, Evan Lorne. I'll settle for a dinner date instead of date moping the floor with your butt."

"Trust me, Lorne, that's as good as it's going to get."

"I would love to, sir, but I have a strict rule about dating anyone in the chain of command."

"But that's the glorious part, Evan, I'm not in the chain of your command! Unless you want me to be then I'd be happy to give you some commands." Lorne dropped his face into his hands and muttered, "Why didn't I leave earlier when I had the chance? Why?"

"Call me!" Joseph called after the departing Lorne.

"You are terrible! You shouldn't have done that!"

"John!" Joseph said, suddenly serious. "Haven't you ever figured out that all my bluff and banter is a defense mechanism?"

John looked at his brother, not believing what he was hearing. He didn't know what to say, so he quietly said, " I have always suspected."

The brothers finished their coffee. John suggested they return to the Control Room to see what McKay had deduced in their absence. Walking together more calmly than they had earlier, the two Sheppard's made their way back to the Control Room.

"Colonel!" he said when he saw John. Noticing that there were two, he said, "Colonels? Todd was telling the truth. Using the Ancient array network I've been able to pick up what he found. It looks like another Aurora class cruiser."

Joseph looked at John and asked, "Is that good?"

John nodded, "Oh, yeah! That's good." Turning back to McKay he asked, "How long to get there?"

"That's the problem. There are no gates anywhere nearby. If we take a puddle jumper to here," he said, pointing to a spot on his monitor, we'd then have to fly about 36 hours to get there.

"Thirty-six hours? You've got to be kidding!"

"Have you ever known me to joke?"

"True. Can't say that I have."

"John, what's a puddle jumper?"

"Small space craft that fly through the gate. They were meant for short hops between gates and planet surfaces. The can make longer flights but they weren't built for such flights. They lack certain creature comforts needed for longer trips."

"No toilets," McKay explained. "No food, no water, no beds."

"Oh, sounds like fun," Joseph observed. Asking the obvious, "What about the ship I came here on? Can you draft those guys to take you there faster?"

"That was my thought as well."

"Well of course it's your thought as well – you basically have the same brain – both of you," McKay commented.

Both Sheppard's responded at the same time, "We do not!"

"I rest my case," McKay said, turning his attention back to his monitor.

Again, productivity in the Control Room was slower than usual while everyone watched the two Sheppard's – it was so weird to see the Colonel doubled, or squared.

"Chuck, get me Colonel Caldwell," Sheppard ordered.

Less than 30 seconds later everyone heard Caldwell's voice on the loudspeaker, "Caldwell here. What can I do for you Atlantis?"

"Colonel Caldwell, this is Colonel Sheppard. Interested in taking a little trip?"

"What do you have in mind, Sheppard?"

"We had a visit from Todd …"

"Todd the Wraith?"

"One and the same. He told us he'd discovered an Aurora class starship. We've verified his information and observed the ship with long range scanners. Coordinates are coming up to you right now."

"You've convinced me, Colonel. When do you want to go?"

"Let me talk with Weir and we'll get back to you. My preference is as soon as possible."

"We've just done a quick calculation while we've been talking and it looks like it would take us five hours to get there."

"Even more of a reason to not delay."

"We'll be ready to go when you're ready, Colonel. Caldwell out."

Sheppard touched his earpiece communicator and said, "Sheppard to Weir."

"Go ahead, Colonel."

"Can you join us in the Control Room?"

"I'm on my way."

Joseph had been quietly observing the personnel doing their work. When there was a natural lull in the activity he asked, "John, why don't we track backwards and see where the ship was coming from before … before whatever happened?"

"Good idea," John responded. "McKay?"

"Working."

Moving to McKay's side Joseph directed, "Don't forget to take into account the solar drift as well as the rotational element."

"Hello! World famous physicist here!"

"So do it, don't just talk about it! You weren't doing it!"

"You want to do this?" McKay asked in a huff.

"Yes, get out of the way," Joseph directed.

McKay moved. "Sheppard, when did you get so damned arrogant?"

"I'm standing over here, McKay."

"Oh, right. This is beyond weird."

Joseph was tapping away at the keyboard. "There. Plotting backwards the only planet in their pathway is this one."

Sheppard looked over his brother's shoulder. "McKay, do you have coordinates for that planet?"

It was now McKay's turn to push Joseph away from the keyboard. "Uh oh."

"No 'uh oh'. What? Have we been there?"

"No, no, nothing like that. It's this other ship that I was concerned about."

"What ship? Another ship?"

"Yes, yes, right here," he said pointing to a spot on his monitor.

"Can the long range scanners give us any detail?"

"It looks like our old friend the Travelers."

"Larin's people? Oh shit."

"Are they another big ugly green/grey space monster people?"

"No, they're scavengers. We lost a previous Aurora class space ship to them."

"That plus their leader kicks Sheppard's butt every time she sees him," McKay added.

"McKay! I told you – I'm not comfortable hitting a woman."

"Well get over it, Jonathan! When you're in a fight, you kick your opponent's butt before they can kick yours."

"Thank you for telling me how to fight! I've only been in the military for 20 years!"

"When you let surface appearances get in the way of instinct you're screwed!"

"Well there you go – you are the expert on getting screwed!"

"Boys!" Weir interrupted as she entered the room. Sheppard brought her up to speed quickly. Her decision was almost instant. "Go!"

Sheppard instantly started into action, notifying Caldwell, his team, and Lorne's team that their mission was a go and that they should be ready to roll in 30 minutes."

Joseph caught his brother's eye. "What do I need to pack?"

"You're not going. You're staying here."

"The hell I am! If there is a chance you'll run into that crazy woman that beats on you then you need me there to cover your back."

"I've been covering my own back for 20 years. I don't need you suddenly riding to the rescue."

"Get over it fly boy, you need me."

"I don't need you. I've never needed you!"

"Well, maybe I need to be needed! You ever think about that?"

That comment brought John Sheppard to silence. He stared at his twin in silence, studying the serious expression on the man's face – his own face.

Elizabeth Weir took advantage of the momentary silence to jump in. "Colonel, I think your brother should accompany you on this mission. He's here to work on the Ancient computer system. That will be one of the most essential elements of this recovery mission if we're going to salvage that ship."

"NO! It's too dangerous!"

"You're going?"

"I'm trained in how to deal with these things?"

"Oh, really? Who taught the class you took on recovering 10,000 year old space ships adrift in intergalactic space? Hmmm?"

John Sheppard stared angrily at his brother. Working very hard to keep his anger in check he said slowly, "I've lived in this galaxy for four years. In those years I've dealt with the Wraith, the Genii, the Travelers, and a whole bunch more bad guys. When you've gone face-to-face with a pissed off Wraith queen then you come back and we'll talk!"

Meeting his brother's ferocious stare, Joseph simply said, "I hope I never have to deal with any of those things, John."

"Then stay here where it's safe."

"John, it wasn't 20 feet from where I'm standing right now when I met my first big green space monster. Until I'm back on Earth I don't consider anything safe."

"Enough," McKay said. "And you thought Jeannie and I had sibling rivalry. We had nothing on you two. If you two are done, Sheppard we could use the help. Zelenka's back on Earth and who knows what shape things will be in when we get there. And he did sort of all right plotting the course."

"Sort of all right?" Joseph asked, his eye brows rising in an expression of disbelief over McKay's analysis."

"Trust me, in McKay's world that's a gushing compliment."

"I see."

"Gentlemen! We're now 25 minutes from your departure. Might I suggest that you continue your discussion during the flight to the Ancient vessel."

John Sheppard understood but he was not happy. He wanted his brother to stay back in the city where he was more safe. He was also concerned that the man had no experience with the Pegasus Galaxy. Throwing him into the deep end on his first day in the galaxy was just too much for anyone under the best of circumstances. But he knew that that ship had sailed, so to speak.

"So, back to my original question, what do I need to take?"

"Don't worry about it! I'll take care of it for you. While I do that, though, you might want to grab some food. Can you find your way back to the Mess Hall by yourself?"

"I can do it. Where do we meet again?"

"Here. We'll all go out to the Daedelus together."

"I'll be here. Can I get something for you?"

"Yes, actually, grab a turkey sandwich for me if you would."

"Will do."

Each man took off on their own, with everyone reconnoitering back in the Control Room in 20 minutes time. Joseph was actually there substantially ahead of the departure time, not entirely sure his brother would show up to take him so he wanted to be sure that his being late was not an excuse.

John tossed his brother a jacket and handed him a backpack while Joseph handed John a turkey sandwich and a bottle of water.

"Thanks," he said.

"Right back at ya," Joseph responded with a smile. "I hope you picked clothes that bring out my natural eye color."

"You'll take what I bring you, got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

John Sheppard growled. "Everybody ready?" Hearing no remarks to the contrary, Sheppard radioed Colonel Caldwell.

"Caldwell here."

"We're ready, Colonel."

"Stand by."

Joseph didn't know what they were standing by for but before he had time to wonder the world dissolved and then a different world appeared in front of his eyes. "Welcome aboard, Colonel, Major."

"Thank you, Colonel," John responded.

"Take us out, Lieutenant."

"Aye, sir. Course plotted, and we're on our way."

"Gentlemen, we should arrive at our destination in about 5 hours. You're welcome to use our Mess Hall and recreation facilities, or we can find some bunks for you to rest if you like."

"Thank you, Colonel. Let's meet back here in about 4 and a half hours."

"Oh, Colonel," Caldwell said as Sheppard started to exit. "What did you think of your present?"

Sheppard just looked at Caldwell scowling. He uttered a small growl and snarl.

"You've been spending too much time with Ronon, Colonel. He's starting to rub off on you."

"John!" he heard his brother call. "Come on! We're on terrain I know now. Follow me."

"I know my way around here. I don't need your help, Joseph."

"Oh but you know you want it! Come on!"

"I'll have you know I've logged more hours on this vessel than you have…." Caldwell heard the argument continued as the two moved out of earshot. He chuckled, thoroughly enjoying Sheppard's discomfort as well as the novelty of having two Sheppard's.

Joseph escorted John to the Mess Hall where John ate his turkey sandwich. Lorne, Ronon and Teyla had tagged along – there being strength in numbers. All of them sat at one table in the Mess where Lorne finally broached the issue everyone had been wondering about since Sheppard's twin had arrived in the city.

"So, Colonel, how is it that we never knew that you had a brother, let alone a twin brother?"

John and Joseph looked at one another before John spoke. "You want to take this one, or do you want me?"

"I'll start."

"You are older, so it sounds reasonable."

"Finally, he acknowledges that I got something right."

Lorne held up his hand. "Boys! Answer my question."

The Colonel interrupted. "Lorne, I don't know if you should be calling your commanding office 'boy'!"

"From here that's how your acting."

Sheppard eyebrows rose in surprise at Lorne's aggressiveness. "Come on, talk!"

Joseph told the story. "It's really quite simple: we didn't know about each other for a long time. You see, our father, in his infinite wisdom, separated us at birth and kept us apart for years. We didn't even know the other existed. John was raised in the family …"

"And a lot of fun that turned out to be," he muttered.

"On that point, dear brother, I will not argue with you at all. I was sent off to Switzerland. When I was sixteen years old I had a love of aviation and was at an air show outside of Paris. You can imagine my surprise when I ran into … well, him," he said, pointing to the Colonel. "There I was watching these amazing planes take off when a carbon copy of myself walked by. He apparently hadn't seen me, …"

"I hadn't."

"… so I caught his attention. He seemed as amazed as I was."

"I was."

"Hey! Who's telling this story?"

"Go on old man."

"At least I'm not some over the hill fly boy who's still trying to capture his lost youth!"

"At least I …"

Lorne interrupted again, "Enough! Have your petty squabbles later. I want the rest of the story."

"Sorry," Joseph said. "Well, needless to say the air show was forgotten. We went off together and started talking, trying to figure out why we looked like each other, and apparently liked the same things."

"Well, at least some things," John amended.

"Oh right. My brother's subtle reminder that he does not approve of my sexuality."

"I don't disapprove of your sexuality. You could learn to keep it in your pants once in a while. You're more horny than any ten men I've ever known."

"Wait," Lorne said. "What?"

"I'm gay, Lorne," Joseph explained. "My brother is straight, and I'm gay. I fuck men, he fucks women. It's very simple. I suck dick …"

"Joseph! I think they get the picture. Go on with your story, or do you want me to take over?"

"Bite me, bitch," Joseph complained.

"We've been over that, you overgrown whore …"

"Enough!!!" Lorne's assertive tone brought both brothers back to focus on the story.

"As we talked we started to realize that we were remarkably similar – with a few important exceptions."

"Thank you," John said.

"You're welcome," Joseph replied with a smile.

"We found that not only did we look alike, but we even shared a birthday in common – right down to the day, the hour, and the place of birth. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that our twisted old fuck of a father had plotted out something diabolical. Have I told you he was a pompous prick of a man?"

"That is another point where my brother and I are in complete agreement," John commented.

This time it was Joseph's turn to say, "Thank you. We made a pact that day to do everything in our power to spend time together and get to know one another. The difficult thing was, though, that we were both on the cusp of manhood and found that it was difficult to suddenly have an identical twin brother. We were doing a lot of exploring, growing, trying to figure out what we wanted to do with our lives. We spent a lot of time together but we also spent a lot of time arguing. We kept our father as much in the dark as possible. We arranged to both go to college at the same place. We took some classes together, which saved my brother's ass a couple of times, if I might add."

"Bullshit! You're making that up! If anyone helped anyone it was me helping you."

Teyla derailed the argument this time. "I can easily imagine that you each were helpful to the other in different ways."

"She's good, John," Joseph said appreciatively of Teyla.

"I know," John answered.

"Are you two together?" Joseph asked. His brother had just taken a sip of water from his water bottle when Joseph asked the question. Not expecting what he heard, he spit water out all over the table, swallowed a bit of the liquid the wrong way, and coughed, trying to wipe up the spill.

"Excuse me!?!"

"Are you two together? I don't know your name," Joseph said looking at Teyla," but you look like his type."

"How would you know what my type is?"

"I have pretty good insight into your mind, little brother."

"Don't call me 'little brother'!"

"My apologies." Turning back to Teyla he said, "You're hot, hon. You have that whole sultry, sophisticated, sensual thing going. You've got a body to die for, you look like you don't take shit from anyone, so I can easily see my brother banging you."

"Banging? I don't understand."

"Banging. Doing the horizontal hula, …"

"Enough!" It was John's turn. Looking like he was barely containing his anger, he looked at Teyla and said, "I apologize for my brother's crude and vulgar approach to life. He needs to learn some manners."

"What?" Joseph asked innocently.

"Don't 'what' me, you pompous prick! Teyla and I are teammates, nothing more. We have never, as you put it, been together. We work together. Unlike you, I do not see the need to sleep with everyone that crosses my path."

"Not sleep, brother. Have sex with. So tell me John, when was the last time you had sex? You're more irritable than I remember. I sense that you've been dancing alone for too long."

"This is an inappropriate conversation for this time and place," John said angrily as he started to rise from the table. As he stood, though, he noticed for the first time that the room was full with people gathered in a wide circle around the table. He hadn't realized that their conversation was being followed quite so avidly by so many people. He froze in place as he looked around at the many, many faces watching and listening. Sheppard was shocked to find that even Caldwell was in the crowd.

"Don't you people have work to do," he asked.

Colonel Caldwell answered for the assembled crowd, "Sorry, Colonel, but we've been flying through the void of intergalactic space for weeks with nothing but repeats of repeats for entertainment. We couldn't pay for such good entertainment!"

Sheppard reached down, grabbed his brother by the arm, yanking him from the table. "Colonel Caldwell," he said. "I'm borrowing your ready room for a moment."

John pulled his brother down the hallway and into the Colonel's small office just off the bridge. When the door closed behind them, he said, "Now you listen here! I told you before and I'll say it once more and then that's it. This is where I work. These are the people I work with. This is my life now. And I will not have you coming in here and fucking up everything I've worked so hard to build." Leaning in close to his brother he said in his most ferocious tone, "Do I make myself clear?"

Appropriately castigated, his brother looked him in the eye and said, "I'm sorry, John. I don't know what it is but we seem to feed off each other in some way, each pushing the other in a constant game of one-upmanship or something. I didn't set out to embarrass you or humiliate you. I really did intend to just tell the story."

John stood back from his brother. "I believe you. I don't know why this happens, but it does. But it can't continue. We can have such conversations in private, but I cannot and will not have any future conversations like that happen in public. Understand?"

"All right," Joseph agreed.

Before they could continue they heard an announcement over the intercom. "Colonel Sheppard to the bridge, please. Colonel Sheppard report to the bridge."

Sheppard looked at his watch, astonished to find that it was past the time he had appointed for everyone to meet back on the bridge. "Crap! I can't believe we waste the entire afternoon."

"Sorry, John. Let's go to work." His brother held out his hand. The two shook hands with Joseph pulling his brother into a brief hug before they exited the room onto the bridge.

"I'm here, Colonel."

"We're just about to come out of hyperspace. Get your team ready for boarding. If our initial scans show a safe environment you'll transport over and get to work. Check in with me every half hour with updates. A lot of people back on Atlantis and at SGC are anxious to hear what you find over there. Marks, drop us out of hyperspace."

"Yes, sir," the young man acknowledged. Joseph cast a subtle but admiring glance at the young man at the helm. The two had enjoyed one another's company a couple of times on the voyage to Atlantis – not an easy fete given the tight confines of the spaceship. Sheppard was adamant about maintaining complete and utter confidentiality, knowing that even a hint of such behavior could doom the young man's military career.

John caught the glance and leaned in close to his brother. "Tell me you didn't," he whispered in his brother's ear.

His brother responded equally quietly. "I have nothing to tell Colonel. Don't you know that allegations like that could finish someone's military career?" he said with utter seriousness.

"Yes, I know," John whispered back. "I just wanted to be sure you did as well."

"Have no fear, Colonel, I'm very aware of the stakes involved. Never, ever doubt that."

"Thank you," John responded with equal seriousness.

The Sheppard's were pulled back to the immediate situation when they heard McKay's voice, "Yes! It looks intact." McKay tried to shove one of the flight deck crew away from his monitor but the man would not budge, instead turning to face McKay with a threatening gaze. "All right, you scan the ship."

"That's my job, doctor," he said turning back to his keyboard and monitor. "Colonel Caldwell, initial scans show no hull breaches, breathable atmosphere, one landing bay door open, minimal energy output, and it's cold over there."

"How cold?" Caldwell asked.

"I can't give you a specific number but it appears to be quite frosty. Unless there is some damage to ship systems, getting environmental controls online should be first priority."

"That's my job, genius," McKay groused back at the man. "Let's go."

"McKay!" Sheppard complained. "That call is my job."

"Well then do it!"

Caldwell looked on chuckling, "It's your call, Colonel."

"Gear up everybody. We go in 60 seconds." Weapons were checked, back packs were double checked, jackets were zipped up. In precisely 60 seconds, Sheppard looked at Caldwell and announced. "Ready to transport."

Caldwell gave the order, "Send them over," and the group was gone.

Joseph materialized on the dark, Ancient ship and thought that while this was a pretty cool way to travel, it also scared the hell out of him. He needed to remember to tell John later. At the moment, though, the only light the group had were the lights on their helmets and the ends of their rifles. The group swung into action, assessing the space for threats.

Sheppard, clearly in command mode, ordered, "McKay! Lights!"

"On it."

McKay moved to one of the nearby panels – Caldwell had thoughtfully decided to put them down in the Ancient ship's Control Room. "Anytime, McKay."

"Working here. Give me a minute. Ancient systems, you know. Ten thousand years old and all."

"Just do it McKay!"

Joseph stood to the side out of the way and watched the team work like a well-oiled machine. No one got in anyone else's way, each had a task and did it smoothly and almost effortlessly. His thoughts were interrupted by the lights in the room coming on, revealing a large open room with magnificent views into space in front of the ship.

"Good job, McKay," Joseph said without thinking.

"Thank you," McKay answered, looking up since he didn't expect to get compliments from Sheppard in the midst of a mission. It didn't take as long this time to realize that the compliment didn't come from his Sheppard but the other one. 'The other one', he thought – I need to remember that.

"McKay! Heat next," Sheppard ordered.

"What? You gonna tell me to sit and roll over next?"

Joseph laughed quietly.

"We're freezing our nuts off in here, McKay. Heat would be really good."

"Already done, Colonel Patience. We should feel some warmth relatively soon. Don't worry, your gonads will be preserved for another day, Kirk."

"Kirk?" Joseph asked.

"Because he's our local Kirk, bagging the beautiful women on just about every planet we visit."

"Not true, McKay," Sheppard corrected, "and can we talk about that later, please," he added as he checked a monitor that powered up when he touched its surface.

"Joseph, start touching everything in here to get the systems re-initialized. The ship should respond to your gene."

"Will do," Joseph answered as he was already moving to the closest monitor. One touch brought the dark, cold monitor to life with columns and screens full of numbers scrolling past as a ferocious rate. "John!" he shouted as he read the first screen.

"What?"

"I read Ancient but I don't recognize this. Do you? I can't be sure but I'd swear it's some kind of countdown. What do you think?"

McKay took one look and grimaced. "That's Wraith! Fuck. How did they get into the system? I thought they couldn't interact with Ancient systems."

Lorne moved the device which revealed that it was actually not part of the Ancient war ship but was a device made to look like an Ancient device. "Suggest we beam this out of here now, Colonel."

"Colonel Caldwell, lock onto the device that's about to explode and get it as far away as possible NOW!"

The device disappeared in an instant. Seconds later they felt the ship gently vibrate and saw a bright flash of light off into the distance.

"That was close," McKay pronounced.

"Ok. Good job everybody. Let's get back to work," the Colonel added.

"Good job? John! I nearly just got us all killed! Good job?" Joseph frantically asked.

Looking at this brother, John said, "Yes, good job. We're all still here. One of us was going to fall into that trap – it was inevitable. You just got there before me. And we're still here because you reacted quickly so that we were able to get the device out of here. So, yes, good job."

Clearly sweating with anxiety, Joseph nodded his head. "Ok. Good job. Thanks. You do this for a living? Jesus, I hope they pay you a boatload of money." And then, speaking more to himself, he added, "Ok, Sheppard, get it together. Alien ship in another galaxy is not a good place to have a breakdown." His pep talk to himself seemed to work because he took a deep breath and moved to the next workstation. This time he checked the device more carefully before touching it to bring it to life. Subsequent activations revealed no additional booby traps or other problems.

McKay was running from one monitor to another trying to do everything at once, talking a mile a minute to himself. Sheppard looked at his brother and shrugged his shoulders. "It works for him," he added to the message his body language conveyed.

"This is unbelievable!"

"What is, McKay?" Sheppard asked.

"You'd think after 10,000 years floating here in space that this tub would be just about out of juice. But no. This ship is powered by a standard Ancient ZPM – and get this – it looks like it has about 50% charge!"

"Are you sure?"

"No, Sheppard, I just stand here making all this up! Of course, I'm sure!"

"Fine. Don't get yourself all worked up. What's next?"

"Ok. Let's move on to …" and he launched into a laundry list of work to be done. "Sheppard," he ordered. When the Colonel moved toward him McKay corrected, "No, not you, the other one. You, sit here and get to work on this workstation. Let's see if you're worth the cost of transporting you all the way out here."

"With such an inspirational pep talk, I'll certainly do my best."

Lorne and the rest of the team had proceeded to explore the ship, looking for any more surprises or problems. Joseph heard familiar voices frequently coming over the ear piece he had been given to wear reporting on their progress as they swept the ship.

Lorne was giving one of his concise but fact-filled reports in the background when his voice suddenly stopped in mid-sentence, followed by a loud crackling sound.

John had been working on a nearby monitor but stopped immediately. "Lorne! Come in. Lorne? You there? We didn't get all of your last message. Please repeat. Lorne, where are you?"

McKay, Joseph and John were left on the bridge while everyone else explored the vast ship. McKay and Joseph stopped what they were doing and listened to John try to raise Lorne.

When he got no response from Lorne he tried Teyla and Ronon. Ronon answered first, "I'm heading toward where he was supposed to be. I thought I saw something." Joseph heard the sound of Ronon's large feet hitting the floor as he ran.

Teyla's voice broke in with one word that turned Joseph's blood cold. "Wraith!" He felt his skin flush. He couldn't imagine a worse thing to hear. "I sense a Wraith."

"One or more than one?" John asked.

Teyla spoke more quietly when she answered. "So far only one. I, too, am headed toward Major Lorne's last known position."

"I'm on my way," John said crisply. "You two stay here. McKay, you got your weapons?"

"Absolutely. Right here."

"Good. Remember, if the big bad Wraith comes a knocking, shoot him, not my brother. Got it?"

"Very funny."

"I'm serious, you can't hit the broad side of a barn let alone a single Wraith."

"I'll have you know …"

"Later, McKay!" John shouted as he ran out the door.

"What do we do now, McKay?" Joseph asked.

"We keep working."

"I don't know if my fingers will move."

"Well, snap out of it. These stations won't reset themselves and they certainly won't talk to us and tell us all their secrets unless we tell them what we want. So get to work!"

Joseph tried to refocus but found that he was worried about John. He thought that such a reaction was stupid. His brother had been out here for four years getting into who knew how many similar situations. For all Joseph knew this could be a standard mission for John. But the truth was he didn't know, and he was scared for his brother's safety.

His private thoughts were interrupted by his brother's voice shouting into his earpiece. "McKay! He's coming your way! Try to head him off before he can get to the Control Room!"

"I'm on it!" he answered, grabbing his weapons and dashing for the door.'

"Don't leave me here alone!" Joseph begged. "Here!" McKay ordered as he tossed his hand gun to John's brother so that the man had something with which to defend himself. "Shoot anything big and green and ugly." And just as suddenly as the whole thing started, McKay was gone as well and Joseph was left sitting all alone on the bridge of an abandoned derelict Ancient space ship floating far, far, far from his comfort zone.

"Come on, Sheppard," he said aloud to himself. "Get it together. Remember – kill the big green thing if you see one. He cocked the weapon in his hand and held it steadily on the closed door, prepared if anything came through. As much as one can be prepared for such things, when the door opened he didn't see a big, green monster but instead a rather petite woman with short cropped hair dressed in something like a leather uniform.

"Sheppard! How the hell did you get here so fast?"

"I don't know who you are, but stay right there or I'll drop you where you stand."

"Sheppard, is that any way to talk to an old friend," the woman said with a girlish smile and the drop of her head in a suggestive manner. She took a couple of steps toward the man she assumed was the man she knew.

"I said stop right there, bitch! If you don't believe me, just keep walking and see where I put the first bullet." Joseph didn't know who this woman was but warning bells were going off in his mind. He could clearly see that she was trying to work him and wasn't buying it for a second. The woman clearly thought she was dealing with a known commodity and was about to be in for a rude surprise.

She took another step and then stopped when Joseph fired a single shot that tore through one edge of her loose fitting jacket. "That was your last warning, woman."

"Sheppard! I can't believe you just tried to shoot me!"

"One more step …" he warned.

It was just at that moment when the door to the bridge opened and McKay dashed back inside, nearly running into the woman. "Larin," he said with venom in his voice.

"Dr. McKay, how nice to see you again," she said with her best disgustingly sweet voice.

"Larin?" Joseph asked. "Is this the woman …" he started to ask.

"Yes, she's the one that …"

McKay didn't get another word out before he saw Joseph move toward the woman, dropping into fighting stance as he got closer.

"Sheppard!" she demanded. "What are you doing?"

"Kicking your ass, honey," he said as his first blow, a sharp kick, connected with her left knee. She went down but reached for her weapon. Before she could believe it, Sheppard was on her again, kicking the weapon away. She tried to stand and reach for another one when the man was once again connecting with her. Somehow he grabbed her from behind and threw her into the wall. She hit with a reverberating thud. While she was momentarily dulled from the impact with the wall, Sheppard grabbed her once again and twisted her right arm behind her back. She started to resist and was shocked when she heard something break. It took several seconds for the pain receptors in her arm to send their signals to her brain that she should be in excruciating pain. She screamed, partly from pain and partly from rage.

The man had released her and stepped away.

"Sheppard! What the hell are you doing?"

"You don't listen very well, bitch! My brother may not be comfortable hitting a woman but I don't have the same hesitation. Make one more move and I'll lay you out and use you to wipe the floor."

"Sheppard, you've never once been able to take me. What makes you think you can do it now?" she asked as she took a couple of steps toward the man.

He didn't hesitate but launched into a flying kick that caught the unsuspecting woman on the side of her head, sending her spinning back into the wall once again. The impact this time seemed to knock her out.

"That was amazing!" McKay said from his position against the wall. "I wish I had a recording of that."

"You do. The bridge monitoring system is back online. Now give me something to tie her up with. Quick!"

McKay found a length of rope in his pack, tossing it to Joseph who had the woman's hands bound behind her back in no time at all. Despite the broken arm, he wasn't taking any chances with the woman. He propped her into a vacant chair and looped another length of rope around her body to hold her in place. When she came to she was going to be one pissed off woman – once she finished screaming in pain from the broken arm tied behind her back to her good arm. Joseph considered a gag as well but didn't have a chance to find something before John dashed back into the room.

One look was all it took to tell Joseph that something was wrong. "What's wrong, John?" he asked.

"Sheppard to Caldwell."

"Caldwell here."

"We've got wounded that need immediate attention. Lorne is down, and Teyla and Ronon both took quite a beating. Ronon might have broken a bone – I'm not sure." His eyes landed on Larin. "What the hell is she doing here?" he demanded.

"You'll have to ask her," Joseph started to answer. His answer was cut short when the woman's legs came together and kicked out viciously, connecting with McKay with a sickening crunching sound.

Joseph wasted no time before stepping over to her and punching her in the face decisively. "I thought I put her down!" he commented.

Sheppard spoke to Caldwell once again. "McKay's down too. Beam them all to your infirmary NOW," he ordered.

"You coming too Sheppard?"

"Not yet. We've got work to do here yet. The Wraith is dead. One Traveler restrained. Scanning now for additional life signs. None. But I see her ship now. That must be why the landing bay door was open."

McKay and the others were transported back aboard the Daedelus leaving the two Sheppard's alone on the ancient war ship.

"You wouldn't know this so I don't know why I'm even asking, but do we have shields of any sort on this thing?"

"Yes, actually, I found that. You want them on?"

"Yes, please."

"Sheppard. We see your shields are now engaged. Did you intend to do that?"

"Affirmative, Colonel."

Turning back to his brother, John asked, "I don't suppose you can fly this thing, can you?"

"I see no reason why not. I've already been interfacing with the system and managed to map pathways for all of the most crucial systems. The ship almost seems like its happy to do what I want. I've never seen anything like this before."

"You should try sitting in the Atlantis command chair sometime and try flying the city. Talk about a trip."

"Sounds like fun," Joseph said with a smile.

"No," John said quickly. "You are so not doing that! Don't even think about it. Do you understand me?"

Raising his hands in acknowledgement of John's position, Joseph said, "Fine!"

"Sheppard," they heard once again on their radios.

"Go ahead, Colonel. Lorne's damaged pretty badly. My doctor wants to get him back to Atlantis ASAP for surgery. I need you back aboard now so we can leave."

Making a split second decision, he answered, "Negative. Colonel. I'll stay here with the ship. Get my brother to safety and take our prisoner and toss her in your brig."

"NO!" Joseph shouted. "You cannot fly this ship alone. I've been linked with the central system and know more about how it works than you possibly could. Let me do this. I know what I'm doing."

John studied his brother's face, and then, hating what he was saying, told Caldwell. "Correction. My brother will be staying here with me. We'll get the ship underway and follow you back to Atlantis. Get Lorne the help he needs. I need him."

Joseph jumped in quickly with one additional bit of information. "Colonel Caldwell, please be advised that the prisoner most likely has a broken arm – along with a serious ass whupping."

"I look forward to reading the report. We'll be monitoring your progress. Caldwell out."

Turning back to his brother, John said, "Ok, fly boy. Time to earn your wings. Make it move."

"With pleasure, brother." Joseph stepped up to a nearby monitor, accessed the appropriate subsystem while also "talking" with the central processor telepathically (or whatever was the appropriate term to use when mental connecting with a 10,000 year old computer). Between the two methods of contact, Joseph got the ship slowly turned and pointed in the direction the Daedelus had followed. The ship slowly started moving.

"Can you make it go any faster?" John asked.

"Why you're welcome, John! I'm delighted to be able to help. You're too effusive with your praise." He sneered at this brother momentarily before adding, "Will you give me a minute, please? This thing hasn't moved in 10,000 years. Let the old girl flex her muscles for a minute or two before we launch into warp speed."

"Warp speed was Star Trek," John corrected. He stood quietly for maybe 10 seconds before asking, "Anything?"

"That was not a minute! I didn't time it, but that was way less than a minute. John, you are the most impatient person I've ever met!"

"I just want to get home so we can get you out of danger and see how Lorne is doing."

"All right, for Major pretty butt I'll see what I can do."

"I don't think he'd appreciate being called 'Major Pretty Butt'."

"Even if he did I couldn't – and wouldn't – tell you or anyone else in the military. Me I'll tell about, but if the man I'm with is in the military my lips are sealed."

John smiled, admiring his brother's ethics.

"Good news and bad news, John."

"I'd like the good news first, please."

"We're moving."

"And the bad news?"

"We're not gonna move as fast as the ship that brought us out here. I don't know where the problem is coming in, but we're losing power before it can push the ship through space. Not surprising given that these systems are 10,000 years old."

"This isn't my first 10,000 year old spaceship. These puppies hold up pretty well with time. Give the old girl some credit."

"You can be as connected with her as easily as I can. Actually, scratch that. She's been asleep for 10,000 years. We don't want to over-stimulate the poor girl."

"All right, I won't join you in a kinky triad with the ancient computer. So how long will it take us to get back to Atlantis at this rate?"

Tapping a few keys Joseph studied the monitor at eye level. "Well, you're not going to like this."

John dropped his head against chest in resignation. "Just say it," he said in fear of what he was about to hear.

"What do you think about 90 hours?"

"Ninety hours?!? Are you freaking kidding me!"

"Sorry brother, I'm not the joking kind. Ninety hours. That's a 9 followed by a 0."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Too freaking long."

Shaking his head, he realized something important. "One problem. We didn't bring enough food for that long. Each pack has got 3 MREs which won't last us 90 hours. Even if we only eat two meals a day, that still leaves us several days short. Not to mention water."

"Not necessarily so. McKay left his pack behind, as did everyone else when they went off to sweep the ship. If each pack has the same supplies then we'll be able to survive."

John noticed the extra packs against the wall. "If McKay's pack is still here then we're all set. You see, he always carries lots of food."

Smiling at his brother, Joseph said, "Well, then, you see? We're good."

John leaned onto the work station, finally feeling the adrenaline that had been coursing through his veins beginning to subside. He jumped slightly when he felt hands on his sides. He quickly realized that the hands belonged to his brother as the man wrapped his arms around John's body.

"Hello," John said suspiciously, not sure where his brother was going.

"Don't freak out, little brother. Just me. Your virtue is safe with me. This is just a hug." John felt his brother's head rest on his shoulder. He wanted to complain and feel uncomfortable but unfortunately it actually felt good, comforting, and somehow reassuring.

"Think of it this way, John. It'll give us plenty of bonding time."

"Now you see, you had me right up until you said that. We're pre-bonding. Bonding didn't come on the scene until after we were grown up."

"Hush," Joseph said as he swatted the back of John's head. "I have it on good authority that it's never too late to start."

Joseph gave his brother's body a squeeze and said, "It's good to see you, John. I missed you." He let go of John and stepped back to another monitor.

"Now why'd you have to bring emotions into this!?"

"I'm gay, John!" Joseph complained. "It comes naturally to me!"

Joseph tapped away at the ancient equivalent of a keyboard, watching lines of strange looking symbols float across the screen above the keyboard. John knew that look – he had seen the same look on McKay's face too many times. It was the human equivalent of a dog with a bone. There was no way anyone was going to take the bone away from the dog. John was too tired to try. And it was kind of nice to see his brother so engrossed in what he was doing. John would never willingly admit it, but Joseph looked like a natural working at the Ancient system. If John hadn't known better he would have sworn that the man had been doing this for years and years rather than for just an hour or so.

John decided that he was slowing down too much and was at risk of falling asleep. He moved around the room gathering up the packs his other team members had left, stacked them along the wall and opened them up, pulling out the MREs and other supplies that would keep them alive over the next three and three quarter days as they made their way back to Atlantis.

With his arms full he looked around wondering where he could stage everything. As if on command, a shelf slid out from a hiding place in the wall exactly where he needed it to be. John loved Ancient technology!

He lined up the MREs, bottles of water, and of course McKay's supply of power bars, candy, and chocolate. Looking over to his brother he announced, "Well, we won't gain weight but we'll survive."

"Good. You know it's important for men our age to watch our caloric intake."

"Speak for yourself. I'm not as old as you are."

"Yet. Oh wait! Now you are!"

John looked up, suddenly remembering something he had intended to ask about earlier. "So tell me about Larin. What happened?"

"I can tell you, or I can show you. Just before she arrived I got the internal sensor array back online so the ship made a recording of the whole thing." Joseph entered a few quick commands and the monitor above his work station started to display video and audio of the entire encounter.

John watched the entire episode carefully, jumping involuntarily at one point when he saw his brother take the woman down. "You don't take any prisoners do you?"

"Hey, I warned the bitch. She ignored me at her own risk."

When the recording ended, John looked at his brother and asked, "So how did you learn to fight like that?"

"Simple. You get gay bashed once and you learn how to defend yourself."

John looked startled by what he had just heard. "You were attacked? When? Who? Where?" Thinking for minute, "What makes you think it was because you were gay?" John asked suspiciously.

"It was a long time ago, John. And it's pretty clear its gay bashing when they're yelling, 'Die faggot!' while they're beating you with a baseball bat." Despite the years since it happened, Joseph shuddered involuntarily at the memory of that night. Shaking it off, he continued his story, "It taught me that no one was going to stand up for me except me so I decided to learn how to defend myself. I'm a pretty mellow, easy going guy – until you piss me off. Then watch out. As you say, when I get angry I take no prisoners."

John smiled. "So I really, really need to warn Lorne about sparring with you!"

"I would never hurt Major Pretty Butt."

John smiled again. "You really need to stop calling him that!"

"I could call him ‘Major Butt' but I somehow don't think he's approve of that one either. How about ‘Pretty Boy'? No? Ok, well I tried. But you'll check out his butt next time you see him, won't you?" Joseph smiled back at his brother.

John blushed. Joseph didn't push the issue, deciding to save his brother further embarrassment. "But don't worry, John. Male butts are my specialty. I'll take care of them."

"Thank you, Joseph. I'm too old to learn something new at this stage in my life."

"No worries. I've got your back, John."

"You hungry?" John asked. Looking up, Joseph answered honestly. "I don't actually know. We've been going at such a pace ever since I arrived in your fair city I don't think I've even stopped to pee."

"Sorry about that. It's usually not quite so busy as it has been today. Personally, I feel like I could fall asleep right where I'm standing."

"Tell you what, let's find a bed somewhere and pull it in here so you can take a nap. I'm kind of getting sucked into this whole Ancient computer matrix thing and wouldn't mind having a little more time to poke around in this system. It's really pretty slick. And personally I'd feel better is one of us stayed awake to watch over things until the old girl's had a little shake down time."

"You sure?"

"Wouldn't have offered if I wasn't. Now come on, let's find something soft – other than me! – for you to sleep on."

"You forget I saw what you did to that poor defenseless woman …"

"Defenseless my ass!" Joseph objected. "That bitch got what was coming to her. McKay told me about your last encounter with her."

"Wait! Wait! What? What did he tell you?"

"He said she whupped your ass pretty good and left you bruised and battered and beaten. I never thought I'd get a chance to even the score when he told me about that. But then he identified her when he came back in here after your great Wraith chase. She got what was coming to her. I'll teach that bitch not to mess with you ever again!"

John stopped where he was standing, amazed by what he was hearing. His brother – the brother that had been a thorn in his side for the last dozen years or so, the brother who had done everything in his power to piss off John, that brother – had gone after her so viciously because of what she did to John more than a year ago? Who was this man?

It looked like his brother. All the radar detectors in his mind indicated that it was his brother. But this was absolutely new behavior. Joseph was defending him? Standing up for him? Telling John that he had missed him? Had been trying to find him and find out about him?

It was all too much to take in while he was so tired. He stood still, nearly asleep on his feet. Maybe he did momentarily fall asleep. All he knew was that what seemed like only seconds later his brother was walking toward him dragging what looked like a mattress, a couple of blankets, and something that might have been a pillow at some point in another day.

"Come on fly boy. Time to get you to bed. You look dead on your feet."

John followed dutifully behind his brother as they re-entered the bridge. Joseph laid the mattress by a wall, covered it with a blanket, got the pillow in place, directed John to lay down, and then covered him up with another blanket. "You going to kiss me good night, too?"

Joseph smiled down at him and said, "I would but it would freak you out too much. Go to sleep fly boy. I've got your back."

"Thanks, bro."

"Sleep well."

"Wake me in a couple of hours and I'll take watch."

"Ok." He said, knowing full well that he had no intention of waking his brother unless the ship was on fire and eight foot tall space monsters were attacking.

With the help of the ever-ready-to-please ship, Joseph dimmed the lights in the bridge, leaving enough light for him to work but not enough to disturb his brother. He set himself up at a workstation across the room from John so as not to disturb him, but also positioned so that he could keep an eye on the man.

Despite feeling relatively safe at the moment, Joseph nonetheless instructed the ship to lock the entrances to the bridge and permit no one – or thing – access to the bridge. Periodically looking over at his sleeping brother, he got to work pouring over the code for the Ancient computer system. The logic really was amazing.

John slept, Joseph worked, although he wouldn't call it work – more like studying at the feet of an artistic genius. He read, he smiled, he connected the dots, he learned, he was amazed. He was having a good time.

When John stirred sometime later, Joseph immediately looked over at him. John opened his eyes, stretched, and looked at his brother. "It wasn't a dream," he said. "You really are here!"

"Yep. I'm really here. Good dreams?"

"Weird dreams."

"Dreams about me and they were weird?"

John rose from where he had slept, looked at his watch and was astonished by the time. "How long have I been asleep?"

Joseph looked at his watch. "Oh, about nine hours. You needed it. Don't even think about complaining. You'll lose. Trust me."

"You must be exhausted."

"Probably, but I've been having a good time with Glenda."

"Glenda? Who the hell is Glenda?"

"The ship's computer. I named her," he proudly explained. "I mean, she's my first – the first ancient computer I've ever spent the night with. I didn't want just a one-night stand so she had to have a name."

"If McKay were here he'd tell you that you're just like me. I'm always trying to convince him that we need to name things and he never gets it."

"You, too? It used to drive my boyfriend crazy, the way I'd give everything a name and an identity."

"You had a boyfriend? You, the love 'em and leave 'em Sheppard settled down for more than one night?"

"Yes, I did. I was with Brad for ten years."

"Wait, wait, wait! Who? How long?" John asked incredulously.

"Ten years."

"And he understood you sleeping around with anything with a penis?"

Joseph looked at John with a totally serious gaze, explaining, "We were 100% faithful to one another for all ten years. He was my life. He was all I needed, he was all I wanted."

"I think I need to sit down," John said, dropped into a chair next to his brother. He shook his head in disbelief about what his brother had just told him. "I'm sorry, but you're gonna have to back up and tell me this again. Who was this guy? And why aren't you still with him now?"

"I'll answer the easy part first. I'm not with him anymore because he died. He was killed two years ago in Iraq."

John studied his brother, noticing that he had stopped typing at the keyboard. Silence ensued for a moment before John simply said, "I'm so sorry, Joe. I had no idea. I wish I could have been there for you." He put his hand on his brother's shoulder to offer a bit of comfort that he was comfortable giving. He noticed his brother wipe a tear from his eye.

"You called me ‘Joe' – thank you, John," he observed before answering John's question. "He was helping with reconstruction in Iraq and was killed in a roadside bombing. One day he was talking with me, and then there was nothing. I tried for days and days to get any information about what was going on. Nobody would tell me anything because I had no standing in the eyes of the law. We were a gay couple. I didn't have any legal rights whatsoever, including the right to have information on what had happened to my partner. Finally I got so pissed I flew to Baghdad and went in search myself. I tracked down the unit he was working with and found out what had happened." He paused for a minute before looking at John. "A part of me died that day with him."

"I'm so sorry. I had no idea. That's so incredibly unfair. You had just as much right as any married couple."

Joseph laughed, which John found odd. He explained, "You want to know what's really galling about the whole thing? We actually were married! We were married in California when it became legal there. We were a married couple. It just didn't count for shit when …"

John learned forward and hugged his brother. "I'm so sorry," he said once again, wishing he had something better to say. Whether because of fatigue or emotions that still ran very close to the surface or because of who he was talking to, but Joseph cried. John held him closer and let the man cry.

When he started to collect himself he simply said, "I miss him so much."

Joseph pulled back from John, wiped his face, and said, "Thanks John. Now tell me, is that mattress any good? I'm beat and I think I'd like to give it a try."

"You want to eat something first?"

"Probably a good idea. What's on the menu this morning? I've very fussy about breakfast."

"I'll be sure to tell the chef."

"Ok, then, just so we're clear." John squeezed his brother's hand. "You want to see his picture, John?"

"You have a picture here with you? Absolutely, yes, I want to see the man who stole my brother's heart!"

"I've carried his picture every day." He pulled out his wallet and as he was digging for the picture observed, "I just realized, but why am I carrying a wallet in Pegasus? It's not like I can just pull the Ancient battle cruiser into a BP station and whip out my VISA card and say ‘Fill her up!'"

John laughed with him brother, also finding it funny how some simple habits stuck with us.

From his wallet he extracted a single picture that showed two men arm in arm, laughing on a beach somewhere. John reverently took the picture and studied the man carefully.

"He's really handsome. He made you happy?"

"Yes, very much so."

"I wish I'd had the chance to know him." John handed the picture back. "And after you've had some sleep I'd like you to tell me more about him. Deal?"

"Deal."

They shared a quiet morning meal and then Joseph took his turn on the old mattress. He too was so tired that as soon as he head hit the pillow he was asleep. As Joseph had done earlier, John sat looking at his brother wondering who this man was and how much he'd missed over the years.

When Joseph awoke 8 hours later John was nowhere around. At first Joe was a bit worried that something had happened while he slept. But those fears were wiped away when moments later John entered carrying a pile of … something. Joe couldn't tell what. "What in the world do you have there?"

"Oh, looks who's awake finally."

"I'm part way there. Got any coffee?"

"Instant. But we didn't bring any way to heat the water. So I went digging around a little and found this," he said, proudly setting the device – whatever it was – down on the shelf where all of their MREs were stacked.

"Ok. That's nice. What is it?"

"I had a little chat with your ship …."

"Glenda?"

"If you insist."

"I do. I met her first. I get to name her."

"Ok. I'll give you this one. Yes, I was 'chatting' with Glenda and she directed me toward this thing for doing a bunch of things with water – heating it, chilling it, freezing it. Now," he said as he touched the front panel of the device, "if I understood what she meant, you touch it here," and as he was doing, "and put your cup here," where he placed the cup, "and … look at that!" he said proudly. "Boiling water! Hot damn!" He poured a little instant coffee into the hot water, swirled it around, and handed it to his brother proudly. "Your morning coffee, sir."

"Why thank you, my good man," Joseph answered with a slight bow.

He took a sip and smiled. "That may be the best coffee I've ever had … at least on a 10,000 year old space ship."

The two shared a laugh.

"Sleep well?" John asked.

"I didn't realize how tired I was. I don't think I stirred all night."

"You were pretty still for the first few hours but then had some bad dreams a couple of hours ago. You thrashed around a little but you calmed down when I touched your arm and told you it was ok."

"You stayed here while I slept?"

"Of course. I was only gone about 3 minutes to pick up the water device. That plus I really needed to pee."

"You found a toilet? Please! Tell me where. I haven't peed in two galaxies!"

"This way," John directed. The toilet was actually just around the corner next to what must have been the captain's ready room, if such a thing was an Ancient concept. While Joseph used the facilities John looked around and actually found fairly comfortable accommodations connected with the room. The captain, presumably, had had a nice set-up. There was a double bed that looked like it had been made up freshly just that morning instead of 10,000 years ago.

Joseph reappeared, asking if John had discovered a shower or anything resembling a shower.

"There must be one but I haven't looked."

"Well, let's see what Glenda has to say." He closed his eyes and 'felt' around in the database for shower or body cleansing devices or something similar. Glenda the good computer guided him to a room adjacent to their current location. Joseph opened the door and stepped inside. He found no controls so again asked Glenda. As if on command, a warm mist seemed to appear from all directions in the "shower" stall.

"Oh, yes!" Joseph said. He immediately started to shed his clothes. "Pee and shower in the same hour – I'm a happy man!" Naked, he stepped into the stall and thought the spray back on again, basking in the warmth of the cleansing spray. He held his head back and let the water wash over his body. He ran his hands over his hair as it became soaked and slicked back. He closed his eyes and practically purred with pleasure. "Oh, John, get in here. This thing is phenomenal. Have you ever used one of these things before?"

"No," his brother answered. "I can't say that I ever have."

"Well strip down and get in here. There's plenty of room for two. And don't worry. Your virtue is safe with me, and I've seen everything you've got – I've got a carbon copy of it all."

John decided that a shower really would be a good thing, so he shed his clothes and stepped into the shower with Joseph. Sensing the second body, the ship activated additional sprays. Like his brother moments earlier, John luxuriated in the feel of the water jets of water rinsing away the accumulated grime and sweat.

"Nice, huh?" Joseph asked.

"Oh, yeah! I'm a believer. This is phenomenal."

Joseph opened his eyes to look around for soap of some sort. His eyes happened to fall on his brother's back. "Holy shit! John, what happened to you?"

"What?" John asked in surprise, trying to figure out what his brother was talking about.

Gently touching his back, Joseph traced a large scar. "Here," he said quietly. Seeing another, he added, "And here."

"The one on the left is from shrapnel. The one on the right was a bullet – went right through and was a clean shot."

"You need to take better care of yourself. I can't have the galaxy using you for target practice. I've only got one of you – no damaging the brother! Ok?"

"I'll keep that in mind. I don't usually get a vote, or even a voice, in the issue."

"Like I said a couple of days ago – no wait, this is only my second day here – I hope they pay you a boatload of money. And I hope they know the shit you've gone through out here."

"Sort of goes with the territory."

"Unacceptable answer. NO damaging the John, please."

John chuckled. "It's not me you need to convince. It's all the bad guys out there."

"Well, I took care of that one yesterday. Who's next? Point 'em out and I'll kick their butts next."

"What are you, my guardian?"

"Well, from the looks of your body somebody better get on the job. We're good looking, but seriously dude, enough with the scarring already."

"Yes, sir," John answered jokingly. The two luxuriated in the warm shower, only after it was over realizing that they hadn't thought to check for towels before hoping into the water. Joseph told John to calm down, asking Glenda where they could find the towels. Instead of towels, though, the water turned off and was replaced by jets of warm air that wiped all of the water droplets off their bodies, drying them without need for towels.

"Oh, I have got to get one of these," Joseph said enviously.

"A 10,000 year old space ship?"

"No, just the shower."

"Now if only we had clean clothes to get into instead of what we've been wearing for a couple of days."

"We'll have to check with Glenda and see what she recommends."

"You're getting quite close with this Glenda, aren't you?"

"Hey, what can I say – she's hot!" Joseph explained jokingly.

John swatted at his brother's arm but missed when Joseph pulled away. "I thought it was only men who got you hot?"

"Physically hot, yes, but Glenda gets me mentally excited. The logic of her programming is amazing."

"Joe?"

"Yes?"

"Have you been with a man since … since Brad?"

"Yes. Once. But I couldn't … It just didn't feel right so I couldn't go through with it."

"I understand."

"And what about you? I hear that you're the Atlantis version of Kirk?"

Sheppard huffed. "If only. Don't ever tell Rodney, but I haven't been with anyone – I haven't had sex with anyone – since I came to the Pegasus galaxy four years ago."

"Four years? Good God, man, that's cruel and unusual punishment!"

"Tell me about it. We're talking neon blue balls here most of the time."

"Why?"

"Well, think about it. I'm the military commander of the expedition so all of the people under my command are off limits. The military makes up more than 60% of the contingent on Atlantis. The remaining 40% are generally scientists and support workers, predominantly male. There are a few women who get me somewhat excited, but we're a very small community. I worry about stories getting around. Things like that could harm my ability to command in a crisis."

"Bullshit! You're a man first and foremost. You have basic manly needs." Joseph stopped for a minute, pondering his words. "Ok, maybe 'bullshit' was too strong. I think I understand your dilemma. But surely you meet lots of available women when you go through the gate. I mean there's that Teyla woman for one. She's hot."

"Yes, she certainly is, but she's a member of my team. She's not military but she's under my command and I can't screw up the delicate dynamics of the team or it could put all of us at risk on off-world missions."

"Damn, John, that sucks – so to speak. Who ever would have thought that two so spectacular looking examples of manhood as us couldn't get laid!"

"If it wasn't so sad I'd laugh," John observed.

"Between the two of us we must just ooze testosterone, and between the two of us we have both genders covered. I guess that together we're equal opportunity teases – getting people all excited and then not being able to do anything about it."

"If you're trying to depress me you can stop because you're succeeding."

"Sorry. That wasn't my intention."

"Joe, there's one thing I've been wondering about. You've been giving me some mixed messages. Why did you get off the Daedelus swinging so hard? It felt like you were gunning for me before you even set foot in Atlantis? I didn't know you were coming and suddenly you were in my face. I got pissed off – sorry."

Joe nodded. "I was scared. We haven't exactly been the closest of siblings over the years. The odds are that when I'm acting like a real prick it's because I'm scared. I didn't know how you'd react to seeing me and I've desperately needed to talk to you and make sure you're ok for a couple of years now. I've been terribly lonely and depressed and knew that there was only one person who could understand – you.

"I'm sorry I came off the ship talking all kinds of trash and rubbing your face in things that weren't even real. It's a defense mechanism of mine. Sorry, John. I saw it happening and I didn't know how to stop myself. I felt like such a total shit for the way I was acting. It was like watching a car wreck happen. You're horrified but you don't know what to do to stop it from happening."

"I hadn't thought about that but I absolutely understand now when I think about it. You've always done that and I always thought your anger was directed at me personally for something I did – and I didn't know what it could have been! So I pulled back each time we saw each other because each time it felt like you were more mad at me than the previous time."

"John, I know. I'm so sorry. Except for Brad, I really suck at relationships. I'm not good at this sharing of feelings crap. I've always thought that feelings were personal and should be held close."

"Yes! That's something else we share."

"You're the same way?"

"Oh, yeah! I've been accused more times than I can count of being stone cold, heartless, insensitive, unfeeling – someone even went so far as to call me, you ready for this, the 'ice princess'."

"Well, tell them that's my title and they need to come up with something more appropriate for you."

"Deal."

The two had been sitting in comfortable chairs in the captains quarters during the entire conversation. They chatted for hours, talking about nothing and then something more serious and then nothing again. They both lost complete track of time until John's stomach growled and he realized that they had been sitting and talking for 8 hours!"

"Holy crap! Do you realize we've been talking for 8 hours!?"

"I wouldn't have guessed anything remotely like that. It just feels so good to talk to you, so natural."

"Yeah, I've got to agree. Let's get something to eat and then we should probably check in with Atlantis and maybe do some work of some kind."

"I guess you're right. But this time we've had together has been the best present I could ever have gotten. I so wanted to talk to you but didn't have a clue how to start."

"Obviously."

"Watch it, bucko."

"I'm watching it! I think we're in complete agreement that we suck at this touchy, feeling, open-up-and-share-your-feelings stuff. In fact, you may be ruining me for everyone else for the rest of my life."

"Just blame me – tell people it's all my fault. Tell 'em I held you down and threatened to muss up your hair."

"Hey! Don't even joke about the hair! My hair is sacred!"

"I know that! Consider who you're talking to here! Duh? Our hair is gorgeous and one of our best assets. That plus our dick size."

"Hey! Can we not talk about that?"

"Well, talk about it or not, it's true. I'm proud of my endowment and suspect that you are as well."

"This is you not talking about it? I'd hate to see it when you really get something in your crosshairs."

Nothing seemed to have changed while they were out of the bridge. Joe had set up an alert so that if any calls had come in or any warnings appeared that the ship would notify them immediately wherever they were. Glancing at a couple of monitors confirmed what he already knew – all was well with Glenda and there had been no calls from Atlantis.

John mentally ‘connected' with Glenda and found out how easily he could contact Atlantis.

"Atlantis base. This is Colonel Sheppard. Atlantis base, this is Colonel Sheppard."

"You're coming in loud and clear, Colonel. How's everything in Ancient land?"

"Couldn't be better."

Joe jumped into the conversation briefly: "Yes it could! We could have some real coffee!"

They brothers heard laughter on the other end of the connection. Dr. Weir had apparently been close at hand when their call arrived because she joined the conversation at that point.

"John? Is that you?"

"Yes, Elizabeth. We're both here. We send greetings from Glenda?"

"Who?"

Joe explained, "Glenda – as in Glenda the Good Witch? You do know the Wizard of Oz, don't you?"

McKay must also have been close at hand because they heard him chime in at that point. "Oh, no you don't! No you don't! Do you hear me, Sheppard? You do not get to name things!"

Joe answered. "He didn't, Dr. McKay. I did."

Rodney clearly was momentarily stumped. "Well, since you're identical then I consider that what one of you does the other automatically did as well, so neither one of you get to name anything! Do you understand?"

"I'm sorry, Dr. McKay, but you seem to be breaking up. Can you hear me?"

John threw an empty MRE container at his brother while trying to get his laughter under control. Succeeding, he said, "Elizabeth. I just wanted to let you know that we're fine, we're on course, and Glenda is performing beautifully. We've started running through some of the systems and so far haven't found any big surprises. Joseph says that the programming is first rate and has a particular elegance about it that he's never seen before. He's interfaced with the ship like they're old buddies. Remind me to pack a deck of cards in future survival packs."

"Will do, Colonel. Travel safely and we'll see you soon."

After enjoying yet another MRE from their dwindling collection, the brothers settled in to looking through some more of the Ancient systems. At one point about a half hour into their browsing, John gave a small cheer. "Finally!" he exclaimed.

"Find something good?"

"A map. There are detailed deck by deck ‘blueprints' I guess you'd call them that show where all of the corridors are, where all of the rooms are located, the designated purpose for each room, and a whole bunch of other useful information. I've always had to sort of feel my way around on other Ancient ships."

"I can see how floor plans could be quite useful."

John studied the floor plans more and then asked if his brother, "Want to get out of this room for a while and take a look around?"

"Sure. Why not? Got something in mind?"

"A few things based on this map."

The two set off on a small exploratory outing. It was the first time they had left the bridge or the adjoining rooms in a long time so the change of scenery, however small it was, felt good. With Glenda's help they explored the ship from front to back and top to bottom. Both brothers were ecstatic with some of their discoveries. When they returned to the bridge about 4 hours later they were both tired.

"Since last night was so quiet, you've got alerts programmed into Glenda, and the door is locked, I think we can probably both safely sleep at the same time tonight. I suggest we give the captain's bed a try if you have no objections."

"I have no objections," Joseph answered his brother. "I'm beat. I have no idea what time of day it is but sleep sounds like the best idea I've heard in a long time."

They adjourned to the captain's quarters where they undressed – both brothers naturally slept without clothing and had for more years than they could count – and crawled into bed.

"Oh, yes!" one of them commented. "This is so much nicer than sleeping on the floor," the other echoed his brother's sentiments. John dimmed the lights and they both lay still, letting their muscles relax and trying to unwind from their day.

When they work the next morning they were curled tightly together with John's arms wrapped around Joseph. Both men had typical morning wood. When they were both awake Joseph joked with John, "So, are you happy to see me, or is that your pistol you've got shoved against my butt?"

"Oh, shit!" John said, quickly trying to pull away. Joseph however, held tight to John's arm.

"Joking! Calm down, John. We're men. Erections happen. It's nothing to be embarrassed about. Remember, sometimes nothing more than a nice breeze can make us hard. This feels nice. Please don't leave."

Somewhat reluctantly John stopped trying to pull away and lay back, although he felt a bit more tense now than he had earlier. After a few minutes it was clear that John was not able to relax back into the mellow place they had been in earlier so Joseph offered to roll over and hold John. John's hand had brushed against his brother's erection by mistake a few moments earlier. "Actually, I think I'll pass on that. Not because this doesn't feel good, but it will feel better to me when certain parts of my anatomy are under control."

"I understand. But I get the shower first!" Joseph said jumping out of the bed.

"No you don't!" John yelled, trying to catch up. Joseph had the advantage and got there first.

"I win!! The victor! The throngs of people cheer! The crowd goes wild for Sheppard!"

"Oh, shut up and move over."

"It's no wonder you only get laid every 4 years if that's how you talk to naked people!"

John gave a partial fake growl but they both quickly got into the good feelings of the ancient shower.

When the water and following air jets were finished Joseph said, "Who needs sex? This was better than sex."

"I personally can't remember," John added.

"Poor boy!" Joe commented, hugging his naked brother. They both grimaced as they once again put on their dirty clothes. With everything going on the previous day they had forgotten to ask Glenda about how to clean their clothing.

They spent another day exploring the ship's files and systems, taking time out for a run in the Ancient-equivalent of a gym. As they ate their third evening meal they both agreed that MREs were not going to be on the menu once they returned to Atlantis.

That night when they laid side by side in the captain's bed once again Joe asked his brother something he'd been thinking about off and on all day. "John. I have an idea. But you have to promise not to reject it immediately out of hand. You have to at least think about it."

"Not a good way to preface a conversation, brother. What do you want to do? Hijack Glenda or something?"

"Oh, no! Nothing illegal or immoral." They both rolled on their sides so that they were facing one another.

"Ok. I guess I'm as ready as I'm ever going to be. Hit me with this hair brained idea of yours."

"It is not hair brained. I actually think it's rather good."

"All right. So share. What's your idea?"

"Neither of us have had sex in years."

"Oh, God," John moaned.

"Something like that, actually."

"No, no, no."

"Yes, hear me out. I'm proposing that I help you out by giving you one of my extra special blow jobs. They've been known to make grown men weap. Since we're identical twins, it would basically be like masturbating in 3D."

"Ok, I'm listening."

"That's it," Joe answered.

"Don't you want me to … you know, …"

"No, John. That's not what's right for you so I would never ask you to do that."

"But that doesn't seem fair to you. I mean, you're as celibate as I am right now. Don't you want to get off just as much?"

"Yes. But you've got to understand that blowing a man is really arousing to me. Being able to give such an experience to a man is the best sex I could ask for. I assure you I'll be satisfied."

John lay silently for a few minutes, which Joe took as a positive sign.

"So, …" John started.

"Yes?"

"Never mind. Stupid question."

"In case you're wondering, having a man suck your dick isn't going to make you gay."

"I know that, or I'd already be gay!"

"What!?!" Joseph asked, sitting up. "You've had sex with a man?"

"No. About 25 years ago I got a fumbling blow job from another guy. Considering that I was only 15 at the time and didn't last more than 15 seconds and he wasn't very good, …"

"Well, you don't have to worry about this one not being good."

"I know, ‘grown men weep' and all that."

"You joke, but just you wait and see."

Clearly John was considering the idea which partly surprised Joseph. Even more surprising to Joseph, John looked at him and said, "Ok."

"Ok?"

"Yes, ok."

"Wow. I'm impressed. I didn't think you'd go for it quite so easily."

"You try going four years without anyone touching you in an intimate kind of way and then we'll talk."

"Well, it's high time we fixed that."

"When?"

"What's wrong with right now?"

"Now?"

"Yes, now. I'm naked, you're naked." He lifted the sheet and looked. "Yep, you're naked. I say we do this now."

John hesitated but finally said, "Ok. What do I do?"

"Nothing. You lay back and leave the driving to me."

"That may be difficult. I'm a bit of a take charge, in control kind of guy."

"Really? I hadn't noticed."

"Very funny."

Joseph didn't respond with words but pulled the sheet down and moved his head down to his brother's crotch. He gently stuck out his tongue and ever so slightly ran his tongue along the head of his brother's penis. The sleeping giant started to rouse almost immediately despite the unusualness of the situation.

It appeared that he had indeed done this before and knew what he was doing. Slowly he ran his tongue all around his brother's penis which rapidly was standing tall and proud. John was clearly enjoying the feeling. His head was back and his eyes were closed but there was a smile on his face.

After a few dozen gentle swipes with his tongue, Joseph wrapped his lips around the head of John's erection, toyed with it with his tongue a bit, and then slowly sank his lips down to the root of John's erection.

"Holy sweet mother of God!" John exclaimed.

Joseph lifted his mouth from John's erection and asked, "Is that good?"

"Oh, yes. Good."

Without commenting, he simply repeated the move. Over the next 15 minutes he did things with his tongue and his mouth and the muscles of his throat that John didn't know could be done. Several times he had John to the brink of orgasm, only stopping at the last possible moment to let him cool off.

Finally, after three near climaxes Joseph thought John had been teased enough. He started going down on his brother, working his dick rapidly from head to root and back again, occasionally stroking the throbbing erection with his hand as well.

He felt John start to clench, watched his testicles pull up toward his body, and felt his brother's orgasm begin in his toes. When the big moment came he planted his lips around the very root of John's dick and held tight, letting his brother erupt into his throat.

John screamed something that wasn't a word but more an expression of ecstasy. He bucked, he thrashed, but Joseph held on, not moving. Wave after wave washed over John, but Joseph held on, letting John ride out the good feelings.

When John finally came back to Earth and his erection started to subside, Joseph gently lifted his mouth from John's dick, taking care to lick the head clean as he pulled back.

John lay panting, still overcome with the feelings that had just washed over his body. Joseph lay his head back on the pillow and faced his brother. "Good?" he asked.

"Grown man weeping here."

"Good. Told you I was good at that."

"Oh. Good. Yes."

"Just relax and go to sleep."

John's breathing slowly returned to normal and the relaxed feeling spread throughout his entire body.

"Thank you," he said as he fell asleep.

Joseph smiled and said, "No, thank you."

The next morning they awoke refreshed and ready for another day. Joseph was somewhat worried that John would have typical straight-guy next morning remorse, but was pleased to see John in a good mood with no hint of issues hanging over his head.

They enjoyed another shower in the captain's shower, ate their breakfast and checked their course. Glenda could bring them in for a landing with far greater precision than they ever could, but nonetheless they wanted to be on hand to watch.

Right on schedule the ship dropped out of hyperspace and started a gradual entry into the atmosphere. Precisely on track they entered the airspace around Atlantis.

"Atlantis, this is Sheppard. Request permission to land."

"This is Atlantis, Colonel. Permission granted. Bring her home."

"Will do. See you in a couple of minutes."

With grace and ease that belied her size, Glenda touched down on a vacant pier, automatically shutting down systems that were no longer needed while on the ground.

John looked at Joseph and, with a big smile on his face, said, "Welcome to Atlantis. You are now free to move about the galaxy. Have a nice day."

Returning his brother's smile, Joseph said, "I hear they have this great restaurant here with killer views of the ocean. Can I interest you in dinner?"

"Sounds like a plan."

Together they descended several levels and Glenda opened a previously unseen hatch so that they could walk right out onto the pier. They each sent thanks her way; she flashed her landing lights in acknowledgement.

A small group of people stood nearby to serve as an ad hoc welcoming committee. McKay broke from the pack and started to push past the two men. Without planning, they each reached out an arm and caught the man. He looked up from his hand held monitor and asked, "What?"

"You treat her well, McKay. She's special."

"Get out of my way. There's clearly a short somewhere. Did you see all those lights just flicker? It's a miracle you made it back here in one piece."

Colonel Sheppard reiterated his brother's warning. "McKay! That was not a short. It was an acknowledgement of what we told her. Glenda's in pretty good shape. You treat her well – or you'll be answering to me."

"And me," Joseph spoke lowly from the other side.

"You both are nuts. You do know that, don't you?"

He threw their hands off and moved on into the ship muttering as he moved deeper into the ship.

The Sheppard's walked together to the others standing nearby.

"Lorne!" John said excitedly. "I'm really glad to see you up and about. How you feeling?"

"A little wobbly, but the cane keeps me stable. Except for that I'm doing pretty well. It's good to have you back, sir. And you as well Mr. Sheppard."

John momentarily feared Joseph would say something ridiculous but was pleasantly surprised when Joseph seriously responded, "Major Lorne, good to see you. Glad to see that you're doing better. We were concerned about you."

"Thank you, sir."

"Major, John may be 'sir' but you can call me Joseph."

"Thank you, sir."

Turning to John, Joseph whispered, "This one is going to take some work, isn't he?"

"Definitely," John responded.

"Welcome home, Colonel," Elizabeth greeted them. "Joseph, so good to see you back. Hopefully this time you'll be able to stay a little longer than the last time."

"That would be lovely, Dr. Weir. The first thing I want to do is have some real food that wasn't prepared and packaged before I was born. You don't by some chance have a place around here to get a drink before dinner, do you?"

"No. Atlantis is an alcohol-free zone since we're under the jurisdiction of the American military."

"Well, damn! That sucks."

John leaned over and whispered into his ear, "We'll have beer later."

Ronon and Teyla were standing nearby as well and extended their greetings to the brothers as well. "I'd give you guys a hug but I'm told that I stink. Something about wearing the same clothes for 5 days."

"Not to mention sweating like a couple of pigs when we went running."

"Yeah!" John laughed. "Good thing we can't smell each other."

"Good to see everybody but we are in desperate need of some decent food. And then a long, hot shower. We'll see you guys later. Come on bro' – food awaits!"

"Yessss! Bet I can beat you there!" Joseph said as he took off on a run.

"You will not!" John said as he took off, gaining ground on his brother but not breaking ahead. The pair disappeared out of sight with the sound of their laughter echoing back to the landing pier.

Lorne muttered as they disappeared, "Damn! I lost the pool."

"Me, too," Elizabeth said.

"I really thought they would have killed each other by now."

Elizabeth nodded her agreement. "Yes, I had expected something on that order."

Shaking their heads in frustration, they headed back toward the city themselves.

~~~~~~~

On their first full day back in the city John had suggested that they needed closure on one issue. He guided them to the brig to see Larin. John walked in alone and stood in front of her cell. He didn't say a single word but when she saw him, she started yelling and cursed him, picking up things like her pillow and throwing them in his direction.

"So, I heard you had a little accident."

"You should know, Sheppard, since you did this to me!"

"Nope, sorry. Wasn't me. Wish I'd been there, though. I bet it was quite a sight."

"What crap are you trying to pull, Sheppard? This was no 'little accident'." She yelled, ranted, and cursed John in every way imaginable. "Don't just stand there!" she finally yelled at him. "Let me out of here and we'll even the score."

"Like I said, it wasn't me. But I wish I'd been there to watch."

"Sheppard, are you nuts? I was there! It most certainly was you!"

They both turned when they heard a voice from the door. "Nope. Wasn't him. It was me."

Larin looked thoroughly confused as Joseph walked and stood next to his brother. The two were dressed in identical clothes, stood the same way, carried themselves the same way, for all intents and purposes appeared identical.

"Sheppard, what the hell is this?"

"Larin, I believe you've met my brother," he said gesturing toward his brother.

Larin stared at the man and noticed one difference. The man Sheppard referred to as his brother had a colder gaze. He looked at Larin as if she were lower than low. There wasn't a hint of compassion in this man's eyes, in her view. She had been able to read Sheppard almost immediately upon meeting him years earlier and knew that he would never feel comfortable striking a woman, a fact that she used to her advantage at every opportunity.

The new Sheppard continued to stare at her, finally speaking. "Unlike my brother, I won't hesitate to beat the crap out of you just because you're a woman. You were not nice to my brother from what I've heard. I just wanted to let you know that if you ever so much as look improperly at him, I will hunt you down and haunt you until your dying day. Not only that, I will hunt down every descendant you might ever have, and eradicate them from the universe."

The man was emotionless while he spoke but there was no mistaking the sincerity of what he said. Without uttering another word, he turned and walked out of the room.

John glanced toward Larin and said, "Dr. Weir has decided to release you and your ship." He then simply turned and left, following his brother.

~~~~~~~~

Over the next few days, the Sheppard boys were always together. The brothers were inseparable. Where you saw one you saw the other. Where one went so did the other. The words of the old song 'wherever you go, whatever you do, we're gonna go through it together' could have been their motto.

Every resident of the city was stumped, as were the crew of the Daedelus. Everyone had seen the way the two had interacted prior to their time on the Ancient war ship. The consensus had been that the two men would haul themselves off the Ancient ship bloodied and bruised but still swinging at one another. No one – no one at all – had expected what they saw instead.

The two were like adolescents, running together, playing together, playing pranks together, tricking people together, impersonating one another. His colleagues had never seen John Sheppard so happy and playful as he had been since returning from his long voyage home on the Ancient ship. It was to the point of people wondering if the Ancients had left a supply of some kind of happy juice onboard the ship, or if the two had found the mother lode of the Ancient equivalent of weed.

The other line of conjecture, not really believed by anyone, was that they found a case of 10,000 year old Ancient whiskey and they were actually buzzed beyond belief. Most people listened but rejected that thinking. The weed theory had more adherents. Some conjectured that a new race of aliens had hijacked the ship on its way home and had replaced the Sheppard's with happy clones.

Standing on a walkway one afternoon, Lorne and Elizabeth observed the brothers pass by below in their usual playful mood, jostling one another, laughing and generally having a good time. "You know," Lorne said looking at Elizabeth, "if they start holding hands and skipping I think we need to consider getting a very big net and capturing them."

Elizabeth laughed at Lorne's joke. She shook her head and muttered, "This is a modern day mystery, like what ever happened to Amelia Earhart. It's a fact that she disappeared but no one ever knew how or where. We sent out two men ready to strangle one another and we got back zippy and chippy the happy-go-lucky twins."

Lorne commented, "You know, betting at the moment is that they found some really, really, really good weed onboard that ship and they're secretly hoarding the supply so they can have it all for themselves. I must admit, it must be some damned good weed if that's the case. I think I'd be tempted to hold on that myself.

"Either that or he's suddenly getting laid on a regular basis. But that theory has real problems as well. I think I'll stick with the weed theory."

"Probably best, Major," Elizabeth agreed.

~~~~~~~

By this time Lorne was fully recovered and was back to work fulltime. That afternoon as he was eating his lunch in the Mess Hall he was startled to suddenly find the Colonel park himself next to Lorne. "Hey, Lorne! Buddy! Pal! How's it hanging?"

Not the Colonel. The 'how's it hanging' thing sort of gave that away. "Hello, Joseph. How are you this beautiful day?"

"I'm great, Lorne."

Suspiciously, Lorne asked, "So, where's …"

Before he could finish the sentence, though, he felt movement on his other side and looked to see another smiling, cheerful Sheppard. "Hey, Lorne! Buddy! Pal! How's it hanging?"

"Colonel?"

"Maybe. So you've heard the same line from each of us."

"Which one is which, Lorne?"

Lorne's head turned from left to right, studying each man in turn before turning back to the other one. "Can't you go pick on someone else, boys? Here I was enjoying a nice quiet lunch …"

"Oh, but Lorne, it's a nice day. You should get out, run, play, frolic, do something fun!"

"Frolic? I don't frolic?"

"Well you should," the other one told him enthusiastically. "It's a lot of fun."

"Especially when you have someone to play with."

"Ok." Lorne said, holding up his hands. "I've got to ask. Everyone is wondering but no one has had the balls to ask. What are you two on?"

"We're simply high on life, Lorne. Now which one is which? Come on, you've had long enough."

Lorne turned to his right and said, "You're Joseph." Turning left, he said, "You're John."

"How did you do that?" the Colonel asked him, surprised that Lorne had gotten it right.

"That's my secret."

Joseph leaned in toward Lorne's ear and said, "Would you tell me if I tickled you?"

"Don't. Even. Think. About. It." Lorne said with as much authority as one could muster in such a situation.

"Come on, Lorne," the Colonel said, "spill!"

Looking very satisfied with himself, he looked from one to the other before turning to the Colonel and said, "Elementary my dear Watson. He's the one who checked out my ass when he sat down."

"Damn!" Joseph said. "You've got to give it to him John. And you've got to admit, he's got a hot ass."

"Hey!" Lorne complained. "I'm sitting right here, boys! Can you at least talk about my ass behind my back?"

Suddenly realizing what he had said, Lorne blushed several shades of red, dropped his head to the table, and said, "Strike that. Forget I ever said that. Please!"

"Oh, but Lorne. I'd love to talk about your ass from behind your back."

"It was such a nice lunch, and then it all went to hell in such a hurry."

"John, I think our work here is done. Let's go find someone else to torture."

"Yes, good plan. Where to next?"

"I think we're due to pay McKay a visit."

"Oh, you like living on the edge, don't you?"

"You know it, brother! Come on, race you there!" and as quickly as they arrived they were gone.

Lorne touched his earpiece headset and said, "Dr. Weir? Lorne for Dr. Weir."

"Weir here, Major. Go ahead."

"I think we need to get the net."

Lorne heard laughter from the other end. "I seem to have misplaced my net so I'll have to see if I can borrow one. Weir out."

 

~~~~~~~~~~

Once Lorne was fully recovered and back on his feet, Joseph reminded him that they had a date in the gym. Of course, his phrasing was a bit more obvious. Lorne admitted that his recent injury had kept him from his usual physical fitness routine and that he needed a workout. They agreed upon a time to spar.

John listened with a straight face as his brother set up the date. But the minute Lorne was out of sight and ear shot, he couldn't resist. "You're gonna kick his ass aren't you?"

"Maybe," Joseph assented.

"Please don't break him! Play a little, but I need him. I depend on him."

"In other words, he does a lot of your work and if he wasn't here you'd have to do it yourself."

John simply nodded, and said, "Yeah, that's what I just said. I need him."

"Don't worry, John. I'll return him in the same number of pieces as when he starts."

"I need all the pieces to still be working, please."

"Ok."

"No broken bones."

"Ok."

"No sprains."

"Ok."

"No …"

"John! I get the picture. Play with him but don't break him. I get it!"

"Ok. Just wanted to be sure. He's important to me."

"And he has a hot ass. Don't forget the hot ass."

"That's your department, not mine. I defer to your judgment on that issue."

"Oh, not to worry. The jury has returned with a unanimous verdict!"

Later in the afternoon at the appointed hour, John left the meeting he'd been stuck in and made his way to the gym in time to watch the sparring match between Joseph and Lorne. When he arrived he found Ronon and Teyla working with some of the new Marines but was surprised to not see Lorne.

Joseph was in his workout clothes and was absently twirling two of Teyla's sparring sticks while Teyla and Ronon finished their instruction. Joseph hadn't been paying attention but heard his name and realized that Teyla was speaking to him.

"I'm sorry, Teyla. My mind was a million miles away. Did you say something?"

"Yes. Could you help me to demonstrate this technique."

"Sure. But I wasn't really paying attention so I'm not sure what good I'll be."

"No problem. I simply need another person. In this instance, Ronon is too tall for me to properly demonstrate."

She positioned him where she wanted him and launched into a slow motion attack using her fighting sticks, never once coming close to hitting him even though she came very close to his body. The woman was a skilled fighter with impeccable control.

By instinct, rather than simply stand still, Joseph responded by blocking her move. Instantly he realized that his job was to simply stand still for this demo. "Sorry. Instinct." He returned to his pre-arranged position and let her proceed.

When their class was finished some of the Marines vanished while others hung around to ask further questions of Ronon and Teyla. A couple remained to practice.

Noticing the time, Joseph called over to John. "Do you think I scared the poor man away, John?"

"No, I think his last meeting ran a little over. Ronon, can you help Joseph warm up a little until Lorne gets here?"

"Really, John, I'm fine waiting."

Ronon, always eager, said, "Sure, no problem. Grabbing two sticks he flexed and asked Joseph, "You want to attack or defend?" The two had not previously sparred or even worked out together.

"Defend."

Without waiting for any further word, Ronon launched his attack. He was equally as controlled as Teyla but fought harder due to his larger size and strength. Years of fighting for his life had taught him to be tough and take no prisoners.

Ronon, accustomed to sparring with John Sheppard who was good but not great – Ronon was constantly telling the man he needed to practice – was subconsciously expecting a response on par with what John Sheppard usually provided. However, it only took a few moves for Ronon to realize that Joseph and John were clearly not in the same league when it came to fighting.

Joseph Sheppard fought as Ronon did – hard, decisively, ferociously. Every attack Ronon made was blocked and somehow counter-attacks were made that actually got past Ronon's defenses. Joseph also seemed tireless. Rather than pause ever few moves, his fighting was constant. He clearly fought to win, as did Ronon.

While they started on an uneven footing, Ronon quickly adapted and matched Joseph's style and ferocity. Neither man was succeeding in gaining any ground, but at the same time neither man was losing one inch of ground either. All conversation and activity in the room ceased as everyone stopped to watch the match underway. Ronon was the undisputed champ in the Atlantis sparring ring but he had finally met someone who was matching him move for move.

Ronon was startled when Joseph stepped back and then gave a sharp, high pitched yell as he launched a renewed assault, taking the lead and making Ronon take on the roll of defender. Sticks were apparently not sufficient for Joseph at that point as he started varying his posture, shifting his center of gravity, and getting himself into position for something – no one knew what.

With another definitive yell Joseph launched himself into the air, sticks swinging, and dropped Ronon to the floor. John didn't think he'd ever seen anyone take Ronon down before. He couldn't believe what he was seeing unfold before his very eyes.

Joseph landed but did not relax his stance, clearly prepared for a counterassault. When Ronon was slow on the response, Joseph launched at him once again and delivered (actually, delivered within an inch or so each time) a series of decisive blows that would have done some serious damage if they had been actually fighting to the death.

He stopped and stepped back, sticks resting at his sides, his breathing mysteriously calm. Despite the rush of activity, he was not panting or even breathing hard. His face was utterly devoid of any emotion. He was waiting for Ronon to make a move, giving the man a chance to regroup.

Ronon returned to his feet and launched an even harder assault on Joseph. Again, Joseph fended off the attack for several minutes. Ronon was tiring – Joseph was as well but was determined not to let anyone see his fatigue. Ronon got in one good move that dropped Joseph to his back on the floor.

Ronon got a smile on his face at finally being able to land a blow on his opponent. He turned away, clearly thinking that he had scored the winning move, as had everyone gathered around, a growing crowd. To everyone's astonishment, Joseph executed a stunning move, somehow rolling, starting with his knees, his butt, his back, and finally his shoulders. He somehow propelled himself upright without use of his hands and attacked Ronon, whose back was turned.

Ronon was clearly caught off guard and was surprised. Joseph decided to end the bout. With Ronon on his back, Joseph dropped one stick and using both hands raised the remaining stick which he plunged downward toward Ronon's chest. He stopped barely an inch from Ronon's skin. John heard several people gasp in shock, thinking that Joseph was actually going for the kill.

With a single look between the two, Joseph was the winner of the round. Again, without using his hands, he launched onto his feet and backed away from Ronon who was still on the floor. Putting his two feet together with his hands at his side, he bowed at the waist, respectfully thanking his opponent for a good fight.

He then went back and helped Ronon to his feet. "Thanks Ronon. Good fight."

"You're good. You could teach your brother a few things."

"I'm trying, my friend. I'm trying."

Joseph walked toward John, noticing that Lorne had arrived. Actually, Lorne had apparently arrived some time during the match. Lorne stood somewhat beside and somewhat behind the Colonel with a look of utter astonishment on his face. His mouth hung open and his expression was a combination of both wonder and fear.

"Lorne! You made it. Good, I've wanted a piece of you! I need a minute and then we can fight."

"Ummm, I've changed my mind. I've got to go water the Wraith or something."

"Personnel reviews, Lorne, personnel reviews. I need those personnel reviews. You don't have time to be playing. You've got work to do." John was trying hard to save his friend from what promised to be a certain, decisive fait.

"No, no, no. Lorne. Fuck the forms. Your ass is mine – so to speak."

Looking quickly to John, Lorne tried vainly to stand behind the Colonel. "Umm, Colonel? Help!"

"It's ok, Lorne. We have a deal that he won't kill you or maim you. He won't break or sprain anything. And he can't do any lasting damage."

"Joseph! I'm my mother's only son. She depends on me for money! I need to be alive to work and make money to send back to her."

"Don't worry, Lorne," Joseph said in a smooth, comforting – and creepily frightening – voice. "I'm only going to use you a little."

"I don't want to play anymore."

Joseph calmly reached past John to Lorne, took him by the arm and ushered him into the center of the gym. He tossed Lorne two sticks and proceeded to twirl and flex his own sticks while never once taking his eyes off Lorne.

Lorne gave a small sound that could only be described as a whimper. Joseph launched a simple attack which Lorne effectively blocked. Joseph congratulated him and stepped back.

Joseph launched a second, slightly different attack which Lorne also effectively defended against.

"Good. You're doing great Lorne. You've got nothing to worry about."

The cycle repeated. Slowly, Joseph dealt with Lorne's unnecessary fear. Granted, he was not quite so aggressive with Lorne, but only so at the beginning until the man was more comfortable with his own abilities. After twenty minutes, though, it was clear that Joseph was the superior fighter of the two. Lorne was absolutely no slouch, but Joseph's abilities were clearly superior.

When they agreed to call it a day, Joseph again stepped back, put his two feet together and bowed to his opponent in a formal move. Lorne had been expecting the move and was prepared to respond in kind.

"Now, was that so tough?" Joseph asked.

"No, but you went easy on me."

"Well, if you think I was going to harm Major Pretty Butt …"

"Major what?!"

"Joseph!" John said. "I told you not to tell him that!"

"Woops. Sorry. I forgot."

"Colonel, your brother has a fixation on men's asses."

"Only really hot ones, Lorne, only really hot ones." Joseph snapped his sweat towel toward Lorne's ass, smiled, and turned to leave the gym and go shower. John simply put his hands in his pockets, smiled, and shrugged his shoulders before following his brother.

~~~~~~~~~

With the consistent increase in personnel arriving in the city from Earth now that three intergalactic ships were making periodic runs to Atlantis, the necessity had arisen for opening up new sections of the city. During the early years of their occupation of the Ancient city, residency had been limited to the main tower. By the time they had discovered the transporter system most people were settled into quarters in the main tower that had the advantage of being close to where everyone worked and close to essential services like the Mess Hall, Infirmary, and recreational facilities.

But more personnel equaled the need for more space. As military commander of the expedition it was John's duty to clear new areas of the city for occupation. In reality, Lorne would normally have handled this task for John since, well, John sucked at it and squirmed hard to get out of the task whenever the issue was raised.

The issue reached critical mass when the Daedelus had arrived two days earlier, disgorging a new flock of Marines and scientists to be absorbed into the city. There were simply no more useable living quarters available in the main tower. Personnel were stuck in incredibly inconvenient – and sometimes inappropriate – places temporarily awaiting clearance of new living quarters.

Moving the task to the top of the list, John and Joseph set out to clear a new housing block for occupancy. After lunch, and armed with pad computers, the two Sheppard's set off to do a safety sweep and survey of the space that Dr. Weir wanted to open up next for residency.

Not only did they have to clear the space as habitable and safe from unknown threats but they also had to inventory the space so that some new Marine wasn't accidentally assigned to live in a kitchen, for example. Living quarters had to be living quarters.

Four hours into the task John was getting cranky – at least according to Joseph (who of course would never admit to also feeling cranky). But the end of the mission was in sight. Turning onto the last hallway, Joseph stepped into the next room and checked out the set-up, entering the information on his datapad.

John stood in the hallway trying to do a quick count of how many rooms they had left to check before they could knock off for the night and have dinner. Since they were in an unoccupied portion of the city it came as an incredible shock when John felt himself grappled from behind and shoved face first – hard – into the corridor wall. Momentarily stunned and bleeding from a cut on his lip and a gash on his forehead, John dropped his datapad which crashed to the floor with a loud bang.

Two hands – two large, strong, powerful hands – held firmly onto John, holding him immobile against the wall. "Well, look here. We found the faggot!" someone said. "What you doing out here all by yourself, little faggot? I saw the way you were acting earlier. You're a disgrace. You need a man to teach you a lesson, faggot!"

John tried to twist away but felt another set of hands slam into his neck and upper body, holding him against the wall. His head bounced against the wall once again which did not do any good for the disorientation he was already experiencing.

Both John and his captors froze when they heard another voice immediately behind them say, "Hey, dickhead! You've got the wrong guy!"

John felt the hands holding him against the wall release him. Still a little dazed, though, he was not able to turn around quickly enough to see what was happening. When he did manage to get turned around the saw his brother take down one of the men and then turn his attention to the other one.

Joseph Sheppard was like a man possessed. His focus was steely and precise. His gaze was lethal. His actions deadly. He punched, he kicked, he grappled the man and threw him head first into the wall. Joseph was going to pick up the man to start all over again when John stopped him. The man was down. John said, "I think you got him."

It took Joseph a moment to remove himself from the zone he was in and to focus on John and what he was saying. Seeing both men down on the floor, he looked at his brother and saw that he was bleeding. Head wounds were always the worst.

He quickly checked his pockets for something to put against the wound to try to stop the bleeding. Not finding anything he quickly pulled his t-shirt over his head and encouraged John to sit down on the floor so that he could apply pressure to the wound.

When he felt he had the bleeding under control, he pulled one hand away to touch the earpiece he had been assigned. "Sheppard to Control. Emergency in Sector 196, Corridor B. Medical assistance required in Sector 196, Corridor B. Send backup immediately to take two prisoners into custody."

Immediately he heard Lorne's voice in his ear, "This is Lorne. I'm on my way! What's wrong?"

"Lorne, the Colonel's been attacked and injured. We've also got two injured prisoners. We need immediate medical assistance."

"Medical team is on the way," he heard Lorne yell while running.

True to his word, Lorne and an amazing array of military and medical personnel were on the scene less than a minute later. Their first glance at the scene was confusing. There were two men down. One Sheppard was shirtless with his hands covered with blood. The other Sheppard was seated on the floor with a bloody t-shirt pressed against his forehead.

"Colonel," Lorne said to John as he skidded to a halt, kneeling down to check on the man.

When the medical team headed to the two men on the floor first, Joseph yelled at them. "Not them! Those fuckers can die for all I care. You help John first. Do you understand me?" he said with a ruthlessness that would have made anyone pay attention.

"Yes, sir," they answered, moving to the Colonel to assess his situation. By that point John had re-focused and protested that he was fine.

"Bullshit, John! I heard your head slam against the wall. You are going to shut your mouth and go be checked out for a possible concussion. That is NOT up for discussion or negotiation!"

"Ok," he agreed, knowing that it was a battle not worth having, especially since his head did hurt from bouncing off the corridor walls.

When the medics were finished with John and were ready to transport he protested that he could walk. Joseph relented and agreed that John could try to walk, but only if he, Joseph, held onto him and made sure he was steady and stable on his feet.

One of the medics looked to Joseph and asked if they could check on the other injured men. With a last look of scorn at the two men on the floor, Joseph said, "If you must." Looking at Lorne he issued a chilling warning. "Major Lorne, for their safety I would advise you to keep them out of my sight and away from me. If I ever see them again I will not be so gentle with them."

When conditions were assessed and the two men were loaded onto stretchers, Lorne escorted them and the guards to the Infirmary. Lorne was taking Joseph's warning seriously and was not planning to have them anywhere near John or Joseph. Until he found out what had happened he wasn't leaving the Sheppard's alone for a moment.

The two wounded men were placed in a sheltered corner of the Infirmary and assigned a team of doctors and nurses to assess their situations and tend to their injuries. Lorne made sure that there was ample distance as well as curtains between them and the Colonel.

Lorne saw Joseph, still shirtless and still with blood all over his hands, sitting in a chair. "Joseph, where's John?" he asked.

"The doctors are scanning his head right now to see if he has a concussion. They slammed his head into the wall really hard, Lorne."

"They attacked the Colonel?"

Looking up at Lorne, Joseph nodded his head, "Yes."

"I don't understand! Why would they do something like that? Everybody likes the Colonel." Lorne was frustrated at the illogic of the situation.

"Joseph. You know why they did this, don't you? I can see it in your face."

"Yes, Evan, I know why they did this." Before he could continue, though, Lorne saw tears in the man's eyes. Lorne watched the man struggle mightily, managing to wrestle his emotions and get them under control. With a look that would have rivaled one from the Colonel when he was in a mood, Joseph's face froze in a blank gaze.

Joseph was about to explain to Lorne what had happened when John was wheeled back from the scanner. "See, I told you," he complained.

"What did they find, John?"

"That I have a already have a brain."

"The scarecrow will be so pleased that he doesn't have to wait."

The doctor agreed, "Yes, Colonel, you do indeed have a brain. But you also have a couple of nasty cuts on your face that I need to stitch up. If any of you," he said, looking at Joseph and Lorne, "get weak at the sight of blood, then I suggest you leave."

Joseph looked at the man with a patient look and simply held up his bloody hands. "What do you think?"

"Evidence would seem to indicate that you are not troubled by the sight of blood. Has anyone checked you over yet?"

"I'm not hurt. This is all his blood," he said, pointing to John. I was trying to apply pressure to get the bleeding to stop. Head wounds bleed so badly."

"That they do, my boy, that they do."

A nurse had set up a suture tray by that time so the doctor snapped on a pair of surgical gloves and assessed where to best inject the local anesthetic in preparation for the stitching. "Give that a minute to go to work, Colonel, and we'll get you sewn back up."

"Good, then I'm going home. I've had a busy day and want my own bed and my own pillow tonight. Don't even think about making me stay here overnight because I am NOT doing that."

"And where did you get your medical training, Colonel? There are many things you are qualified to do, but unless I'm mistaken, making medical decisions is not one of those things. You leave that to me, thank you very much."

"I'm not changing my mind!"

Joseph looked to the doctor and said, "I promise I'll stay with him this evening and all night to make sure he's ok, if that helps."

Reluctantly, the doctor consented. A few minutes later when the sutures were in place and the dried blood was cleared away, the doctor said, "I'd like you to stay but I will consent to you leaving if your brother stays with you tonight. Do we have a deal?"

John readily agreed, sliding off the hospital bed he'd been on. With Joseph by his side holding a bottle of pain pills and a sheet of instructions on proper care for his injuries, the two started to leave the Infirmary. Lorne quickly moved to their side to walk with them since neither seemed eager to stick around any longer than they had to.

"Colonel, I still need to know what happened back there."

"No you don't, Lorne," John said without slowing his pace.

"Yes, sir! I do. And that's not open for negotiation."

The Colonel turned a cold eye to his second-in-command and considered his backup officer. "I'd really rather not talk about it, Lorne."

"And I wish we didn't have to, sir, but I've got three personnel who've clearly been involved in a brawl and I need to know what happened."

John and Joseph stopped simultaneously, each looking at Lorne. Joseph started to speak first. "Major Lorne" (so much for first names), he said. "Choose your words more carefully. This was not a 'brawl' as you call it. This was an attack, an assault. This was a crime. This was no brawl."

The pair started walking again, the Colonel not feeling the need to add anything to Joseph's statement.

"Fine. Poor choice of words. But I still need to know what happened and I'm not going to go away. This is my job, sir, as you well know and I would thank you to not obstruct my investigation into this incident."

"Come," was all John said to Lorne as came to the door of John's quarters. The lights in the room automatically turned up as the three men entered the room. Both brothers moved around the room with familiarity, something which did not escape Lorne's notice.

Things were different in the room since the last time Lorne had seen the space. Gone was the Colonel's old, twin bed and in its place was a double bed. Instead of just one chair at the desk there were now two. To Lorne's trained eye, the room was occupied by two people, no longer just one.

"Sit," the Colonel ordered as he stripped off his blood stained t-shirt and went to wash his hands. "Joseph, clean your hands. They're a mess." Without comment Joseph went to the sink in the kitchen area and washed his hands while Joseph did the same in the bathroom.

From the bathroom John shouted, "Lorne. Sit."

A moment later the three men were seated facing one another.

"What happened, Colonel?"

While John was quiet, considering how to answer the question, Joseph knew how to answer and did so. "They jumped him, Major … thinking he was me."

"Don't," John said, holding up his hand and shaking his head. "Please…"

"No, John, he needs to know."

"Please," John said once again. "I must have missed something. It doesn't make any sense," he said, clearly frustrated.

"Doesn't make any sense? Are you nuts? Maybe not to you, but it makes deadly sense to me. You were bashed, John! They gay bashed you!"

John shook his head, not angrily but simply unable to wrap his mind around what had happened.

"Wait a minute," Lorne said, "I can't ask …"

"Major! John's straight. I'm gay. Think about it. They thought they were jumping me when they slammed him into the wall and called him 'faggot'!"

"Oh, fuck," Lorne said, finally comprehending what had happened.

"They must be two of the new ones, Lorne," John explained. "They must not have known that there are two of us."

"They must have seen me doing or saying something that they found objectionable and they thought that John was the one doing it. They set out to teach me a lesson and … It's as if I did this to him myself."

"Joseph," Lorne said, "do not even begin to let your mind go there."

"Argue all you want, Lorne, but this is my fault."

Angry now, Lorne said, "It most certainly is NOT your fault and it is not the Colonel's fault. The fault lies with the two men that jumped you. And I will not sit here and let you blame yourself for someone else's stupidity and narrow-mindedness. And if I hear you even hint at that again we are going to have a serious dispute, do you understand me?"

Surprised by the vehemence of Lorne's words, Joseph looked up at him and simply nodded his head.

"That's better. Now if we've got that guilt bullshit out of the way we can get back to what we were talking about."

"We were checking out space to house the newest arrivals. I should have gotten that done weeks ago but I didn't, so we were doing that. We were nearly finished. We were on the last hallway. Joseph was in one room checking it out while I stood in the hallway checking something on the computer I was carrying. The next thing I knew my head was bouncing off the wall and I heard hatred like I've never heard before. I don't know how anybody could be so filled with hate for someone that they'd never even met before."

"Welcome to my world, little brother. It's a dark and scary place for a lot of gay folk. We've had a bull's eye painted on us for more years than I can believe."

"It's not right," was all John could say.

In quiet resignation, Joseph could only agree. "No, John, it's not right. Nothing about it is right."

Lorne remained quiet, sensing that the brothers were treading on sensitive ground.

"This is what happened to you, Joe?"

"Something somewhat like this, yes. Only my attackers did a more thorough job on me. My attackers used a baseball bat. I would have been dead if someone hadn't come along at just the right – or wrong – moment (depends of your perspective) during the attack."

Speaking quietly, John simply said, "I do not understand." Looking at his brother, John took Joseph's hand and said, "I'm sorry. I had no idea. I simply didn't understand. I'm so sorry that I didn't get it. I'm so sorry."

"Lorne was right, John. It's not your fault. It's not my fault. We can't blame ourselves. That won't accomplish anything."

Joseph reached out and wrapped his arms around his brother, holding him closely for a moment.

As much as he hated to do so, Lorne needed to know more about the incident. "I have to ask. Who took down your attackers."

Without a second's hesitation Joseph said, "I did! If there are charges to be filed, Lorne, you be absolutely sure that I am the one named. You keep John out of this. Do you hear me?" he said vehemently.

John, however, was having nothing to do with that course of action. "Charges? Why would there be any charges? They attacked me! You didn't attack them! You didn't initiate anything! I didn't initiate anything! You were simply defending me while they were bouncing my head off the wall."

"Nonetheless, I want it on the record that any injuries sustained were at my hand, and not yours. You are blameless."

"I thought we had agreed that there is no blame here," Lorne said, "except for the two idiots who attacked you." Shaking his head, Lorne added, "I really thought Stargate Command was doing a better job of filtering out people like that who couldn't be a part of a cohesive team isolated from the rest of humanity."

"Well, they slipped past somebody," was all that John said.

Checking his watch, Joseph reached for the bottle of pain pills and read the label. He grabbed the bottle and said, "You're due for a pill, John, but the label says you should take them with food. I'll go get something so you can stay here and rest."

"NO!" John said loudly, startling both of them. "We go together," he added, a bit more in control of his emotions.

"Sounds like a good idea, Colonel. I haven't eaten yet either. Mind if I join you?"

"Works for me, Major."

"Good," he said as they headed toward the door. "Let's go eat."

When they entered the Mess Hall it was a little past the prime dining hour so the crowd wasn't too intense. Joseph ushered John to a table on the balcony, got him settled and headed back to pick up their food. As he walked away, Joseph stopped and looked back at this brother. The man looked pulled inside himself, introspective, contemplative, troubled. Joseph knew that there wasn't much use bringing it up just yet. Knowing his brother, John needed to sort things out himself first. Forced conversation now would just make the situation worse.

Turning, he walked off on his mission to get their food. Lorne had stopped at a table nearby when he saw some friends and was chatting with them briefly. When he saw Joseph walk past toward the serving line he said, "I'll be right there."

Joseph simply nodded, but then stopped and said, "Keep an eye on him for just a minute, please."

"I was going to," Lorne responded without hesitation.

Selections made, Joseph made his way back to the table, nodding at Lorne as he made his way back to the table. He gave John his food and the two sat quietly eating their dinner, John more slowly due to the numbness and stitches in his lip.

When Lorne excused himself to go get his own dinner, he saw Ronon standing in the aisle looking at Sheppard. Always an expert at reading a situation to be able to spot danger and threats, Ronon instantly saw that the brothers were far more subdued than usual. Not a word was spoken between them. They both looked hunched over, not sitting up straight. Ronon instantly knew there was a problem, he just didn't know what.

Seeing Lorne, Ronon's first words were, "What's wrong with John?"

Lorne didn't know how the Colonel would feel about him telling others what had happened. He hesitated but realized that Ronon would see the cuts and stitches and would know he had been injured. "I think you need to ask him, Ronon. But be careful. Don't push him too much until he's ready. He's had a big eye-opening experience this afternoon that scared the crap out of him."

"I've never seen Sheppard scared."

"Trust me, Ronon, he's scared. Don't push him, please."

It was not in Ronon's nature to ignore the obvious. He walked over to the Sheppard's are pulled out a chair, sitting down with them. They both looked up at Ronon but just slightly nodded their heads in acknowledgment. One glance and Ronon saw the cuts, bruises and stitches on John's lip and face. "What the hell happened to you?" Ronon asked in his usual, subtle way.

Looking up, John simply said, "I ran into a wall."

Joseph simply shook his head and kept on eating, never looking up. Ronon turned his attention to Joseph. "Is that what happened?"

Speaking quietly without looking up, Joseph said, "Yeah. Wall."

The local anesthetic that had been injected into John's lip before the stitches were made was wearing off. His fork hit the raw edge of his cut lip at just the wrong angle, causing him to wince, drop his fork to the floor, and put his hand to his lip. "Fuck," he said.

Joseph immediately leapt from his chair to retrieve John's dropped fork and to check for any renewed bleeding. Seeing that the stitches were firmly in place and nothing was damaged, he went to get John a new fork. Lorne passed him and could see the waves of anger rolling off the man as he walked away from the table.

Without even being there, Lorne knew that Ronon had completely disregarded his instructions, his request, and had plowed right in asking questions. He wanted to be mad at the man, but he knew Ronon was only acting out of loyalty to his friend.

As he stepped up to the table he saw the Colonel sitting holding an ice cube to his lower lip. Ronon was intensely studying the man. "Sheppard, cut the crap. What happened to you?"

"Ronon, I asked you to wait awhile. You couldn't just do what I asked?"

"He's hurt! I need to know what happened."

Looking up with an expression on ferocious intensity, John looked at Ronon and then Lorne and then back to Ronon. "I was jumped by two men. They slammed my head into the wall and, if Joseph hadn't been there, would probably have killed me."

"Why? Everybody love you!"

John hesitated. Lorne knew the struggle going on inside the man. He'd been there with other friends before so he knew some of the anguish the man was experiencing. "They called me 'faggot', 'Colonel Faggot', and told me that they were gonna teach the little faggot a lesson."

"I don't know that word. What's it mean?"

Lorne explained as best he could. "It's an old Earth term used to berate and belittle a man who has sex with other men. It's not a good word, Ronon. It's a word used to show contempt and hatred."

"But you don't have sex with men, do you?"

"No, Ronon, I don't."

"But I do," Joseph said as he walked back up with a clean fork for his brother. "They jumped John thinking he was me. I fuck men so they wanted to kill me. I've been through it before. That's why I learned how to fight and defend myself."

"Why would they care? Why does it matter?"

"It doesn't, Ronon," Lorne said, "but a lot of people from Earth get really bent out of shape about the whole idea. Their fear is completely groundless but they take every opportunity to lash out at innocent people without provocation."

Both John and Joseph looked at Lorne as he spoke with Ronon. Lorne turned to look at the two, seeing the startled looks on their faces. "I've been through this before with some friends. I've broken up attacks, I've held hands after someone's been bashed, I've even attended a funeral from one gay bashing that wasn't stopped in time. It makes me sick. It makes me furious. It makes me want to go out and bash some heads into walls to knock some sense into people."

"Thank you, Evan," Joseph said.

Ronon looked at Joseph as he asked, "So this happened to you before?"

"Yes. I was attacked by a group of three guys with a baseball bat. They did some pretty serious damage and probably would have killed me if somebody hadn't come along and scared them off. You see, Ronon, this is not rare on Earth. It's wrong, it's sick and twisted, but it's not rare."

"You're planet is so fucked up," was all Ronon had to say at first. Then he added, "Did you see who they were? Tell me and I'll go teach them a lesson."

"Thanks, big guy, but Joe already did."

"I think they need another one," he said, standing from the table.

Lorne stood as well and said, "NO! Ronon sit down. We've had enough violence for one day. One of them is in the brig. The other is still in the Infirmary. When he regains consciousness he'll be moved to the brig as well. He's under constant guard. They'll both be out of here as soon as possible. I can promise you that."

Ronon sat back down.

Word of the attack had started to get around the city. The Marines and the medical personnel that Lorne had taken with him when the emergency call came in gave lots of points of view as to what had happened. Not all of them were correct, or even remotely correct. But nonetheless, by the next morning everyone in the city was talking. Atlantis was known for many things, not the least of which was its ability to gossip.

At breakfast the next morning, the Sheppard's appeared and ate with John's team. Again both men were surprisingly subdued and quiet for them. After weeks of adolescent hijinks, everyone noticed when totally new behavior appeared on the scene.

In addition to the cuts and stitches on his lip and face, colorful bruising had started to appear on John's face. Joseph had not come through the incident unscathed. In the shower after the incident he discovered that the skin on his knuckles was torn up from striking the men so strongly and repeatedly.

Looking around, John noticed that many people were looking their way. Again, he had sat somewhat hunched over, almost as if he was trying to be smaller and less of a target. When he saw the behavior of the people in the room he sat up straighter and asked others at the table, "So has everybody heard about this by now?"

Looking at one another, Teyla decided to try to answer first. "I have heard mention of the incident."

"Which means that everyone, including the dishwasher has heard the story."

"Unfortunately, John, not everyone has heard the same story. There are a surprising variety of theories circulating."

Throwing down his napkin, John stood from the table and said simply, "This stops now." He walked away with great deliberation, clearly intent on something or getting somewhere.

Moments later they heard the Colonel's voice coming over the loudspeaker system throughout the city. "Attention all Atlantis residents. Attention all Atlantis residents. All personnel are directed to report to the Gate Room for an important announcement in 10 minutes. I repeat, all personnel are directed to report to the Gate Room for an important announcement in 10 minutes. Don't be late."

Joseph quickly stood and said, "What the fuck is he doing?" With the same intensity that his brother had shown just moments before, Joseph took off toward the Gate Room to find his brother and find out what he had in mind.

John stood at the railing in the Gate Room watching quietly as people started to assemble. While the space was not optimal for a meeting, there were really not a lot of alternatives readily available in the main tower. There were far larger spaces available in the city but it would have taken more of an effort to get everyone moved to those locations. Besides, he wanted this to be a quick meeting. Joseph walked to his brother's side and whispered a question into his ear, getting an equally quiet response in return.

Precisely 10 minutes after he had summoned everyone to the room, the Colonel looked up and, speaking in a clear voice that easily carried throughout the entire cavernous room.

"Thank you all for assembling here on such short notice. Something serious happened yesterday and you need to know about it. There are lots of stories circulating but I'm hearing that some of them are wildly off course. So, I want to set the record straight.

"Yesterday afternoon my brother and I were performing a sweep and survey of a new block of quarters to give us some breathing room and get everyone into their own space. You all work hard and should have your own room to go back to at the end of the day.

"As we neared the end of the sweep, my brother was checking one room while I stood in the hallway. Without warning I was jumped from behind and slammed into the wall. There were two men who attacked me, both new arrivals.

"Their attack was unambiguous. They called me 'faggot', said they needed to teach the 'faggot' a lesson, and generally made it clear that they were not there to simply to make small talk. That plus my head repeatedly bouncing off the wall helped to make it clear."

By this point there was a low murmuring from various pockets around the crowded room. John held up his hand for silence and continued.

"I am revealing no secrets here when I tell you that I am straight. I'm also revealing no secrets when I tell you that my brother is gay. We both are what we are, have been since birth, and will be for the rest of our lives. We've always been what we are, we acknowledge the differences, we celebrate our differences, and we get on with our lives. Our differences enrich us and make us stronger.

"These men attacked me, ambushed me, bashed me if you will, because they thought I was gay. Nothing else. They had seen or heard something in their 24 hours in the city. They apparently didn't realize yet that there were two Sheppard's. They thought I was gay. And they thought it was an acceptable thing to do to beat the crap out of me just because they thought I was gay. They might have killed me for all I know.

"My brother has been beating himself up over this since it happened, blaming himself for doing or saying something that others considered inappropriate or offensive. Major Lorne and I have both told him that he is not to blame in any way. The fault, the blame, lies with the two men who attacked me.

"What these two men did was a disgrace, a disgrace to themselves, a disgrace to their country. It was a dishonorable act of cowardly men. I am sickened and disgusted by the hatred of these two, and the violence that these two men sought to inflict on someone – simply because they thought he was gay." Sheppard paused, looked around the room, and continued. "It doesn't make one damned bit of difference whether someone is gay or straight.

"This whole thing has been a horrible eye-opener for me. My brother has been attacked before, simply for being gay. He called it being gay-bashed. It apparently happens often enough that there's a term for such things. My brother's attackers used a baseball bat on him. Fortunately, my two attackers just used their fists – and my brother was close at hand to help me out of a tight spot.

"People, I do not understand why anyone would ever feel that it's their right to attack an innocent person – with either weapons or words – just because that person is different than they are. I've been trying to wrap my mind around this for 12 hours now and I'm no closer now than I was when it happened.

"So, all I really wanted to do was tell you what happened, to set the record straight, and to tell you that while I am in command of this facility, there will be an absolute policy about respecting differences between people. If such a thing ever happens again, if there is even the hint of violence or even disrespect, I will … actually, you don't want to know what I'll do.

"If anyone has a problem with gay people or with this policy, speak up now before this day is out and I'll get you on the next transport out of here. We are a small group a long, long, long ways from home. We have to depend on one another to survive. Differences don't matter. Respect and trust matter."

"I should probably shut up now. Thank you all for coming. See me afterward if you have any objections and I'll personally get your paperwork started immediately for your transfer. Dismissed."

He stepped back from the railing one step and surveyed the crowd. He had expected to see a line of people forming to request a transfer. He was stunned to instead hear applause start in one corner and rapidly spread throughout the room until the entire assembled body was applauding loudly and forcefully. Joseph stepped up next to John and simply bumped his shoulder against his brother in acknowledgment. "Good job, bro," he said with a smile. "You make me proud to be your big brother."

"Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?" John said, turning to grapple his brother and lift him off the floor in a hug. "I love you, you know that, right?"

"Oh, yeah! Right back at ya, big guy."


End file.
